From Outside to Ouran
by ShadowMoon2430
Summary: Mina finds herself at Ouran Academy after a change in lifestyle, moving up from life as a commoner. It turns out that's not the only thing she has to worry about adjusting to though when the Host Club realizes she knows Haruhi's secret. And all she wanted was to get as close to normal as she could. Eventual Kaoru/OC. (Reposting of my old story)
1. Chapter 1

_Way back, several years ago, I started working on this story before it ended up abandoned. I recently reread it and decided I really want to finish it. With half of it already written, I plan on fixing the typos and posting the chapters I have done a few times a week. Hopefully by then, I'll have the last chapter that I never finished ready to go. I really loved working on this one and always felt bad about letting it go. So here's to hopes for the future!_

 _Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her. Feel free to review at the end of the chapter._

* * *

Have you ever come across one of those moments that just sent up a red flag in your mind? This was one of those moments for Mina. It's not that there was anything particularly _threatening_ in the room. In fact, it was quite the opposite really, which is probably why she was so uncomfortable. It was a common feeling anymore, even after a year. Generally speaking, Mina felt like she should have expected as much. She had been at Ouran a week now and there was nothing particularly normal about it when compared to her old school. Mina's eyes swept over each of the seven individuals in front of her. They could all take their smiles and "hosting" and take it somewhere else. This is what she got for trying to find club information in a school full of lunatics.

Mina smiled nervously as she took a step back towards the door. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your… club," she said, fumbling to find a word she could get away with saying out loud.

"Fear not, princess," The taller blonde stated as he stepped forward, grabbing her hand despite her attempt to pull away. "It is impossible to be interrupted by a beauty such as yourself. You need not deny that your heart has drawn you here for a reason."

Mina's eyes widened as she quickly stole her hand back, holding it close to her chest for protection. "No, you really don't understand. I'm not interested in whatever this is. So… I'll just let myself out, thanks."

She didn't get very far though as she was suddenly pulled down and staring into big brown eyes. Mina blinked in confusion as she looked over the short blonde in front of her now with a pout on his face. "You mean you don't want to have cake and tea with us? You could sit with Usa-chan if you'd like!" He finished saying as he held up a stuffed pink bunny. Mina pursed her lips as she stared at the bunny. How could she possibly say no to that? Silence was definitely best.

"Let her be, guys. I thought we weren't even open yet anyway," a voice said from further back, though Mina didn't give much attention to it considering she was more concerned with keeping what was left of her personal space between the two blondes in front of her.

"While that may be true, it never hurts to get another customer. She may even turn out to be of some help to you, Haruhi." Mina shifted her eyes over towards the guy who spoke as he wrote in a notebook. It was then that he looked at her and smiled. "Welcome to the Host Club. I apologize on behalf of the others."

Mina let out a breath as she closed her eyes, trying to keep from getting upset. Apologies or not, as she thought over everything she heard on top of what was running through her own mind, she had to admit that the mere idea of it all was starting to bother her. Some clubs shouldn't exist. "Don't worry about it. I don't want to be one of your _customers._ I don't need to waste my time and money on this."

"Hey, don't dis it," one of the twins said as he leaned on her left should. "Until you try it," the other twin finished as he planked her other side and both leaned towards her face.

"Brilliant idea!" the taller blonde suddenly shouted as he ran forward again and shoved the other boys out of the way. "You must try it! As king of the host club, I demand that you spend the afternoon here and try out the host club. Once you do, you'll see what you're missing!"

"You can't just hold everyone hostage, senpai." A brunette walked up and pushed the blonde out of the way before bowing to Mina. "I'm sorry about them. They mean well…" he dragged off, almost as if doubting his own words before looking at Mina again. "My name is Haruhi, and feel free to ignore Tamaki-senpai. If I were you, I'd want to leave too but the host club really isn't all that bad once you get to know them." Haruhi offered a smile as he gestured towards the other hosts behind him. Mina listened to his words but was slightly distracted as she stared at him now. There was something familiar about him, though she couldn't say why.

"I doubt you have other plans so you might as well stay," two voices said in unison. Mina blinked as she stared at the twins yet again in front of her, though luckily they decided to stand by Haruhi this time instead of her. "Any girl would love to take your place," one twin started. "It's not every day you get a preview like this," the other one finished.

Yet again, Mina didn't have to worry about responding to anything. The short blonde was holding her hand again and as he looked up with pleading eyes. "Please stay? You can have some strawberry cake with Takashi and me! It'll be fun!"

Mina sighed in defeat as she dropped her head. "Sure, I guess I can stay for a little bit." She smiled before she was dragged over to one of the couch and tables.

"You can call me Honey! And that's Takashi," the boy said before pointing towards the tall guy sitting across from him. Takashi said a quick hello before falling silent yet again. Mina had seen him when she walked in but it wasn't until now that she realized he was the only one she hadn't heard speak until now.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you both. I'm Kawahara Mina. Um," Mina paused for a moment as she looked between the two in front of her. They were a bit of an odd combination, but then again, she didn't even understand how Honey was even a host when he seemed so young.

"What is it, Mina-Chan?"

Mina tilted her head a she thought over her words. "Nothing, it's just… Never mind. How are you in the host club? I can understand Takashi-senpai but aren't you?" She trailed off again. If she wanted to insult someone, she was sure she was probably getting a good start to that.

"Oh, cause I'm a 3rd year!" Honey said with a smile as he held up three fingers. "Tama-Chan invited us to join right when he started the club. So did you want some cake, Mina-Chan? Strawberry's my favorite so that's what I'm gonna get but you don't have to. We have other flavors too! They're all really yummy. You should try them all!"

After seeing how excited Honey was over it all, Mina laughed a little and shook her head. It was hard to believe that he was older than her. But to each their own. "I'll pass on having them all, but I guess I could go for some chocolate."

The three didn't have to wait long before Haruhi came over with tea and cake. "Yay! Haru-Chan, Mina-Chan wants chocolate cake. And can I have strawberry?"

"Sure, Honey-Senpai." Haruhi smiled as the plates were set on the table. "So your name is Mina? I'm kind of surprised you stayed."

Mina shrugged as she took her piece of cake. "Maybe I'm a sucker for cake. I'm surprised as well. It's not bad now that I'm not surrounded, though I'm not sure this is better." If Haruhi hadn't grabbed her attention from Honey and Takashi, she probably wouldn't have noticed several pair of eyes staring her down from the other side of the room. Maybe she could luck out and run away before she had to talk to anyone else. "You know, I feel like I've met you before, Haruhi. I know we're not in the same class so it's certainly not that. I just can't figure it out." The more she spoke to Haruhi, the surer she was that she knew him somehow. It wasn't likely though as far as she knew. After spending the last year out of the country and not going to Ouran before that, it wouldn't make sense.

Haruhi shrugged. "Sorry, I can't say I know you."

Mina was just about to dismiss the idea all together and focus back on her cake when she remembered. Startled by the information, she looked back up trying to figure out if he really was one of her old classmates. "Wait, are you Fujioka Haruhi?"

Haruhi's confirmation was all she needed to connect all the pieces. "Oh, we went to elementary school together. I'm Kawahara Mina." Before either could say another word, they both had a much larger audience and Mina was staring into blue eyes. It seemed this other blonde really didn't know personal space.

"How do you know my Haruhi?" he all but shouted as he grabbed her shoulders.

"Like I just said, I went to school with he-him, sorry." Mina quickly stumbled over her last words as she looked past him to Haruhi as she apologized.

"Haruhi and Kawahara Mina both went to school together, however it would appear that they never really spoke when they were younger," the guy with glasses stated as he walked forward and shut his notebook. "Kawahara-San moved in middle school due to their family business. I figured if she didn't say anything to Haruhi from the beginning, then it was unlikely that they would really remember each other. If you hadn't invited her to stay as well, then it also wouldn't have been an issue, Tamaki."

"Who gave you permission to but into my life? I don't know who you think you are but you certainly don't have permission to go stalking me." If Mina hadn't been annoyed by them earlier, she certainly was now.

"You did. Kyoya pretty much looks up everyone that walks through that door," the twins said with a shrug as they watched what was unfolding.

Mina pushed Tamaki's arms away from her as she held her hands up, trying to calm down. "I didn't even mean to be here. What didn't you guys understand?"

"But what about Haruhi? She knows," Tamaki cried out as he pointed to Mina, trying to get everyone to focus back on his issue. "What if she tells?"

"Look, I don't know what you're so worried about but I'm really not concerned about anything that is going on in here. Your business is your own, like mine should be." Mina snapped the last bit as she shot a glare at who she assumed was Kyoya.

Before the boys could continue and cause more of an argument, Haruhi stepped forward to address them. "Look guys, just let it go. There's really not much you can do about it. She probably would have realized sooner or later even if she didn't come to the club. It's not like the girls don't gossip about everyone in the club."

"Then it's settled," Tamaki said seriously as he sat down, looking thoughtful.

"What's settled," the twins echoed as they looked at him.

"We'll obviously need to keep an eye on her to make sure she keeps her secret. So from today on, you'll have to come to the host club."

"Not happening," Mina deadpanned as she stared at Tamaki. "Some of us actually want to find real clubs for after school. I'm out of here." And not bothering to listen to another word, Mina left despite all the words of protest that followed. What she thought might have been an end to the discussion was just the beginning of a pain that might never go away for her, something she would understand very soon.

* * *

 _Shadowmoon: Short chapter a mostly an introduction for Mina. I look forward to getting the next chapter up soon. Hope you enjoyed it!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her. Feel free to review at the end of the chapter._

* * *

The sound to signify the end of class came as a relief. Mina smiled, glad to be free as she pushed her dark hair out of her face and shoved her school items into her bag and walked into the hallway. It was a nice change to get out of the classroom. Despite the amount of work her teacher seemed to give, lessons were going well so far. If all the work remained easy, it would mean a smooth week and Mina was glad for that. It meant she had more time to figure out what she wanted to do with her time, rather than just sit at home staring at walls.

While she only had a short break between classes, she would gladly take it so she could relax. It turned out her classes were only the calm before the storm. School wasn't the storm, but one was certainly approaching her. It had been two days since her accidental encounter with the host club, and considering that she hadn't run into any of them again, she could only assume that she was in the clear. She couldn't have been more wrong though.

It was just as she was leaving her classroom to relax during her break during the day that a pair of hands grabbed each of her arms and dragged her down the hall before she could protest. "What do you two want?" Mina growled as she looked at the twins after they nearly dropped her on the floor.

"What kind of greeting is that?" they said in unison before one stepped closer to speak on his own. "You know, a simple hello would work."

"Coming from the mystery twins," Mina mumbled as she took a step back. "Pretty sure normal people don't say hello to strangers who kidnap them."

The twins shrugged and leaned against the wall as they ignored her comment. "I'm Hikaru."

"And I'm Kaoru," the other said who was closer to her. Mina supposed she should be glad to finally have names for the last members of the host club. She hadn't ever heard their names before and wasn't concerned about learning them either. Plus there was the fact that she'd have to guess which was which the second they moved on her.

"Nice to meet you," Mina said dryly, more out of curtesy than anything. "Now are you going to answer my question? I'm assuming you kidnapped me for a reason."

"We were bored," Hikaru started as he looked towards the ceiling.

"So we decided you could entertain us," Kaoru finished as if it were obvious.

"I'm not your entertainment. Besides, I was going to read so if you two wouldn't mind."

"Oh, we don't mind." Hikaru said as he grinned and looked at his brother. "We're sure you don't have that much to read."

"So you can do it after we're done with you," they finished in unison.

"Whatever," Mina mumbled as she pulled out a book from her bag and sat down on the floor. She was pretty sure she could ignore them and still read if she tried. That was until the book was pulled out of her hand.

The twins were both scrutinizing the cover of her book. "Give it back," Mina stated as she suddenly moved towards them, trying to grab the book that Hikaru now held out of her reach. "Now, now. This doesn't even look like school work. Plus, we haven't even started to have fun."

"You'll have it back when we're done," Kaoru said, trying to get Mina to relax.

Mina glared at them as she clenched her fists before sitting back down with a huff, crossing her arms as she gave up on trying to get her book back for the moment. "Just be careful with it."

"So, how do you know Haruhi?" Hikaru asked as he leaned back against his original spot on the wall and began flipping through her book.

"Is that what this is all about?" Mina couldn't believe that these guys would track her down just to ask her about Haruhi. Hell, she had spent so little time with her in elementary that she wasn't even sure if she could say she knew Haruhi. "We went to elementary school together. There's really nothing else to it. Whatever story you were imagining in your heads, you can forget. Sorry to disappoint."

"Come on, there's gotta be more to it than that. First off, if you went to the same school as Haruhi then you obviously weren't born with money." Kaoru commented.

"The likelihood that both of you would end up coming here is pretty slim. So come out with it."

Mina let out a breath as she shook her head at them both. Something had to be wrong with them. How could two people be so annoying? "It's called a coincidence. Now can I have my book back?"

"Hmm," both hummed as they looked at each other. "Close your eyes."

"What?" Mina was sure she was missing something.

"Close your eyes," the both said again, waiting on her.

"Fine," Mina gave in as she closed her eyes. Apparently, she needed to work on telling host club members no cause she couldn't recall having this problem before now. Hopefully this torture was worth it and would just end with her book back in her hands.

"Alright." They said again as she opened her eyes only to see no sign of her book and both of them standing in front of her, mirroring each other. "If you can guess which one is Hikaru you can have your book back."

"And you'll leave me alone?" Mina asked wearily. She somehow doubted she would win this. She had no idea and even if she guessed right, she didn't trust them to actually admit to it. She paused for a second, studying them as if it would help her. Answering couldn't hurt, either way. "You're Hikaru," she said as she pointed to the one on her left.

"Wrong," whom she now believed was Hikaru, said on her right. "But, we will leave you alone as a consolation prize."

"See you later," they both said with a grin before running away and disappearing around a corner.

Mina was left sitting in the empty hall, dumbfounded, as she realized they had actually ran off with her book. The next time Mina saw them, she was sure it would take all of her control not to punch someone. She couldn't believe they actually stole her book.

* * *

Mina didn't know just how boring her house could be when nothing else was entertaining to her. She was starting to think she was cursed. It's not that anything else bad happened, but what was she supposed to do without her book. The last thing she wanted to do was start a new one when she was so close to finishing the other one that the twins stole. Despite a bookcase full of books, an infinite amount of movie and tv choices, and every other activity she could possibly think of, none of it sounded appealing. Surely there were better options other than just sitting on the couch, sinking into the cushions and trying to find some sort of pattern in the texture on the ceiling.

Some things never changed. She could remember doing the same thing a few years ago in her old house. It was almost the same. There seemed to be one thing missing though. Even if she went hunting through the kitchen, she wouldn't find what she was looking for. Apparently, her old comfort foods didn't quite make it onto the shopping list anymore; not when they could afford everything with a higher price tag.

With those thoughts in mind, there was really only one thing she could think of to do and that was to go to the store. She needing snacks or something to eat her misery away in.

And that's what led her to where she was now, rummaging through the chip isle, hoping she could find her favorite. She had just found her prize when she spotted a familiar figure pass by the end of the isle. Grabbing her chips, Mina ran down the aisle determined to catch up to them.

"Haruhi, I thought it was you I saw," Mina stated warmly as she smiled.

"Hi, Mina. How are you?" Haruhi asked as she paused her shopping, turning towards Mina. "Doing some shopping as well, I see."

"Yeah, well I wanted something to munch on after my run in with some evil twins at school."

"Really, what did they do now?" Haruhi asked as she rolled her eyes.

Mina pouted as she crossed her arms. "They stole my book and ran off with it cause I don't know which one is which. Pleasant friends you have."

"They can be a handful, that's for sure. Well, I'll see if I can get your book back tomorrow in class."

"Thanks, anyway, I've been wondering... What's with the get up at school? I mean, I wasn't going to ask but after seeing you now," Mina paused as she gestured to the dress Haruhi was wearing. "Trying to make a statement?"

"Not really. I ended up stumbling on the host club kind of like you did. Except I broke a vase and now I'm trying to pay it off. They thought I was a guy at first so Tamaki-senpai made me start hosting. It doesn't really bother me so I just go along with it."

Mina nodded slowly when Haruhi finished her explanation. "So they _are_ idiots. Good to know. So when did you start coming to Ouran?"

"About a month ago. I got in on a scholarship."

"Oh, that would explain it. I can't imagine trying to get a scholarship to that school."

Haruhi tilted her head as shifted her basket of groceries. "So you're not here on scholarship too?"

"No, my parents are paying for it. They had some good luck with their company and stuff after we moved. Can't say I'm used to the lifestyle change though. It's still weird. Guess I like cheap chips too much and everything else," Mina said with a laugh. "Well I'll let you finish your shopping."

"Alright, well stop by the host club right after school tomorrow. I'll get you your book back."

Mina bowed slightly and smiled at Haruhi. "Thanks a lot. I'll be sure to stop by. I don't think I can go another day without it anyway. Bye, Haruhi." With that, Mina went off to buy her chips and left Haruhi with her basket.

* * *

Another day had passed, classes were finally over, and Mina was headed towards the 3rd music room. Now that she thought about it, she would have rather just waited longer to get her book than risk getting roped into more time at that club. Maybe the book wasn't worth it? She could always buy a new one.

Mina's thoughts trailed off once her eyes landed on the doors leading to the club. She could always just wait outside until Haruhi came out. But that would probably take a few hours. Dismissing that idea, Mina took in a breath before she pushed open the door slightly and scanned the room for Haruhi. It didn't take long to spot her across the room.

"Miss Kawahara, welcome back," Kyoya said courteously and Mina cursed under her breath when she realized she was spotted.

Reluctantly pushing the door open the rest of the way, Mina walked completely into the room. "I just came to get my book back." She made a quick gesture towards the twins before moving towards Haruhi. "Feel free to ignore me."

"What did those shady twins do now?" Tamaki cried as he rushed over towards Mina.

"We didn't do anything," the twins said in unison causing Mina to roll her eyes.

"You stole my book. Now give it back," she snapped as she clenched her fists.

Hikaru and Kaoru held up their hands and shrugged in response. "We don't have it."

"Besides," Hikaru continued, "we did you a favor. Why sit and read when you could have fun with us?"

Haruhi shook her head as she looked at them. "You know you could always ask her to come here without stealing stuff."

"But she wouldn't have come so this worked better," Kaoru commented.

"And you call yourselves hosts," Tamaki cut in, clearly upset, as he looked at the twins though his comment went ignored.

"You're right. I wouldn't have come," Mina snapped as she narrowed her eyes. "I don't willingly spend time around people that are annoying. Now can I _please_ have my book? I'd rather not buy a new one."

"We already told you," the twins went on again. "Just guess which one of us is Hikaru."

Mina was sure of it; if she were in Haruhi's place and she had to deal with these kind of shenanigans every day, she would have killed someone by now. The fact that none of the other members seemed to even care about what was going on was enough to tell her this was normal.

Yet again, Mina gave in and stared at the twins before pointed to the one on the right. "You're Hikaru?" While her words didn't sound enthusiastic or certain, she was certain that she didn't want to keep guessing for the next millennium.

"Wrong," the twins echoed.

"No, she's right. Now you should just give her book back," Haruhi cut in before they could keep up the charade.

"Aw, but that's no fun," Kaoru pouted but didn't protest after that. "Well, we don't have it anyway." Hikaru jumped in then with a shrug, "so you'll have to wait till tomorrow."

All in all, it seemed like Mina might actually get her book back now. While seeing them give in like that made her a bit suspicious, Mina was grateful either way even if she didn't know how it happened. It was surprising to know that Haruhi could apparently tell them apart, and even more surprising that she actually guessed right.

Tamaki seemed ready to move on to another issue at hand though that she was not concerned with. "We were lucky they did get you here," Tamaki suddenly said as he stood in front of Mina. "You need to stay! How can Daddy make sure Haruhi is safe if we have you running around unsupervised?!" Tamaki cried out, surprising her, though she wasn't sure if she was more shocked by the choice or words or just from him yelling in her ear. "Mommy, do something!"

Unsure how to respond to that, Mina just gave Haruhi a questioning look. She needed help. Why couldn't anyone act normally? "I'm pretty sure there are no moms or dads here, at least I'm hoping so," Mina mumbled mostly to herself.

"While it is likely that you will keep Haruhi's secret, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on you. After all, if you were to accidentally let it out, you would have to cover Haruhi's debt instead. It would be in your best interest to go along with this until you're used to referring to her as a boy," Kyoya said as he let himself into the conversation.

"Then we could all take turns spending time with her!" Honey jumped in, looking at Mina eagerly. "Wouldn't that be nice? I had a lot of fun last time you were here."

Mina stared dumbfounded at them all. Were they all in on this now? "What? Look, I did have fun," she started as she looked at Honey before looking at everyone else, "but I'm not an idiot. I'm not going to slip up. It's not like I talk to a lot of people while we're at school anyway. I promise, your secret is safe."

"Good, then we're all decided. Operation Watching-Mina-And-Keeping-Haruhi's-Secret is under way!

That was when she realized she had lost. This was going to be a very long school year.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her. And please leave a review at the end of the chapter._

* * *

A new week. A new start. Everything seemed to be improving greatly. That is, if Mina ignored the eyes that were always peering at her while she wasn't in class. She was pretty sure lunch was the worst. She hadn't realized it before, but it was the only moment during the day that she was actually supposed to be in the same room as the Hitachiin brothers.

While it did work out to her advantage at the end of last week since it meant getting her book back, it was more annoying than anything for the rest of the time. Her first week as the new student, she felt like she was in a fish bowl. But with the twins watching her, she felt more like she was some sort of prey. She might just start ditching lunch soon if this kept up.

Aside from that though, she finally found what she was looking for. A drama club which she had been starting to doubt existed in Ouran, and the choir, now a part of her schedule. And with any luck, she could have what she considered a normal life in high school.

Classes had just ended and Mina was looking forward to getting out of there. She had a few obstacles in her way however. It seemed the entire host club had decided to take a detour to the music room in order to meet her along the way. And with only a few words and wasted effort on her part, she was soon being dragged down the hall despite her protests. Apparently other students weren't concerned about kidnappings. Just her luck.

* * *

Every time she moved her green eyes from one table to the next, she was sure it got worse. Well, perhaps that wasn't true. There were only two places that made her question it all. Tamaki and the twins. And that was why she tried her best to ignore them.

Mina couldn't believe she was listening to this. She wondered if these girls ever heard themselves speak, then again, if they were listening to the other girls sitting around the host club, then it was close enough. How could these girls possibly go on and on about these ridiculous acts? She was sure if someone said half the things she was hearing to her, she would want to jump off a cliff. She would never understand why these high school girls were so focused on romance, even in the form of the host club.

None of the guys seemed to need help with their egos.

This was the first time she had ever seen the host club with their customers and it was certainly eye opening. From all the squealing from the girls to the kimonos the hosts were wearing, she wasn't sure where she was. It kind of reminded her of drama really. She had to admit she did get some amusement out of watching Honey and Mori with their guests, along with Haruhi knowing that her guests had no idea she was a girl. It seemed kind of obvious to her but she supposed their lovesick illusions would cover all of that up fairly easily.

Mina was soon given a distraction when Kyoya came over to her. "I hope you are comfortable over here and have gotten a good luck at the host club," he said amiably. "Seeing as you will most likely be spending a good amount of time here every week, it wouldn't be good for the other guests to see you sitting here. That is why it has been decided that you will act like a guest while you are here. You wouldn't want to upset our customers after all."

"Really?" Mina looked up at him, hoping to find this was some part of a joke. She knew better though. She might not have spent too much time with any of the hosts so far, but it had been long enough to realize that Kyoya took his role in the host club quite seriously when it was concerning their money. "And what would that mean for me exactly?"

"Not much, you would just need to be interacting with the hosts like the other girls do for part of the time that you are here. Consider it part of your supervision. You may want to figure out your type before tomorrow." And without another word, he was back out speaking to the guests and leaving her to her thoughts.

Well, if Mina had to act like the guests here, there was almost no point in joining the drama club. She would be doing all the acting she could possibly need while here. At least it would only be for a short time. Maybe she could get out of this within a few weeks.

Mina shook away her thoughts as she stood up. If she was going to have to deal with it all up close tomorrow, she might as well pick her poison now. She was definitely going to miss her safe corner though. Her steps were slow and deliberate, as if willing herself to be invisible the closer she got.

Girls were swooning over Tamaki's words. Others were admiring the twins as they shared a moment between themselves. Honey was making the girls squeal from his cuteness while Mori helped silently. Haruhi carried on conversations with the girls, and Kyoya did the same. Though, Mina suspected part of that was secretly about gaining more income. It was hard to imagine spending time pretending to like any of them. The worst would probably be sitting with Haruhi though. If the boys were worried about her slipping up elsewhere, her biggest chance would probably be while here.

Mina soon noticed all of their attention shift however. Just like them, she spotted the figure standing in the doorway.

Mina from the side as Hikaru and Kaoru moved forward to welcome who she figured out must have been a new guest. "Come on in. What are you waiting for?" one of the twins said. Without missing a beat, the other one continued. "Watching from afar is no fun." Mina supposed her life would be easier if she could actually figure out which was which. "Please, Miss," they finished together.

Tamaki soon stepped in, chastising the twins. "Stop that. How many times do I have to tell you boys to be more courteous to our first-time guests. Please, you don't have to be afraid, my princess. I welcome you to the Ouran host club." He offered her a smile as stepped close to her.

"No! Don't touch me, you phony!" And that was when Mina heard the resounding slap, and judging by everyone's looks, that wasn't a normal reaction. She should have felt bad for Tamaki, but she had to admit she was a bit amused.

Tamaki looked like the world was ending. "What do you mean I'm phony?"

The girl wasted no time in responding. "Just what I said. You're phony. I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this host club! You shouldn't go spreading your love around so easily like that, you're stupid! You must be a dim-witted narcissist! You're incompetent! You're a commoner. You're disgusting." Each word cut into Tamaki more and more. And it was the best thing Mina had ever seen. She had no idea who this was, but she liked her already. Maybe she should have done that when she walked in instead of trying to run away.

Tamaki was ignored, left to recover on his own.

"I don't suppose you are..." Kyoya started.

"It's you. Kyoya!" That was certainly not the response Mina expected from the girl.

After that whole display though, Mina only had one comment for them. "You guys did an awful job at welcoming me."

* * *

Their newest guest was currently sitting on the couch across from the hosts and Mina. All their guests were finally gone and everyone was back in their uniforms. Mina wasn't sure why she was still there but she was currently leaning against the wall, listening to the peculiar conversation taking place. Who would have guessed they were engaged…

"Oh, how I longed to meet you. My one and only prince charming."

"Your fiancé?" the twins spoke, one right after the other. "Kyoya-Senpai?"

Well, at least Mina wasn't the only one weirded out by that.

"Of course. My name is Renge Hoshakuji, and I'm transferring into Ouran academy's 1st-year class A tomorrow."

"Why is he sulking?" Hikaru asked as he looked towards the other side of the room. It seemed that while this whole conversation was happening, Tamaki was sulking in the corner of the room.

Kaoru replied to his brother. "Because mommy was keeping a secret from daddy."

Mina was really starting to wonder why nobody had a problem with these family names being used.

Kyoya quickly corrected that thought though. "Whatever. Why does everyone insist on referring to us like we're husband and wife?" So at least he wasn't on board with the name.

Renge quickly drew the attention back to her as she continued her explanation. "Oh, this is a story of love at first sight. I couldn't resist the way you were adoring those flowers in the backyard when you thought no one else was looking. And how sweet it was when you reached out to that poor little injured kitten."

"She serious?" the twins asked simultaneously.

Mina was pretty sure Haruhi voiced the question in everyone's mind when she asked "could you have the wrong person?" What other explanation could there be?

"No way! I could recognize my love anywhere," Renge started passionately. "He's a gentleman who's kind to everyone and doesn't ask for anything in return. He likes solitude, but in fact sometimes he gets lonely. He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, Uki-doki Memorial. You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi."

And suddenly everything made sense. Granted that Mina had spent plenty of time obsessing over characters in her books, but she was pretty sure she wouldn't declare herself the fiancé of someone that she thought looked like her favorite character. Someone needed a reality check or something.

"Uki-" Haruhi repeated, "doki-" Honey followed, one right after the other.

Suddenly Tamaki exclaimed "Otaku!"

"Otaku?" Hikaru asked.

"I've never seen one!" his twin continued.

That statement was enough to catch Mina's attention. "How have you never seen one? I might just classify your guests as borderline otaku. They'd certainly be obsessed enough." She finished the thought as she mumbled it mostly to herself.

Mina's commentary was quickly swept over as Kyoya drew the attention to himself. "I get it now. You're in love with that character. You're projecting the love onto me, and you somehow deluded yourself into thinking that we're engaged. I assume this Miyabi character probably wears glasses as well."

And just like that, Tamaki recovered. Everyone was surrounding Kyoya as they realized their thoughts and questions had been a giant waste. "So, she made it up. You're not really her fiancé, right?" With a question like that, Mina wondered if Tamaki truly thought they were mommy and daddy.

"Well no, I don't remember ever asking for her hand in marriage." Kyoya confirmed. "Besides, this is the first time I've ever met the woman."

"According to my research, I understand that you are in charge managing the club. Is that true, Kyoya?" Perhaps Renge was a perfect fit for Kyoya. They both seemed to like stalking people. Of course, Mina might have been the only one thinking that. She couldn't imagine the two of them actually together, amusing as the image was.

Honey nodded as he answered Renge. "That's right. Kyo-chan is our director."

"You're the club's director? That's perfect. Oh wow, I've always wanted to wear a sandwich board to advertise a business." Renge seemed to have everything planned and suddenly wasn't listening to what anyone was saying. It seemed that she was on a mission and Mina was sure it would mean a lot of entertainment soon for her. "I've made up my mind," Renge continued. "From now on, I'm gonna be the manager of this host club."

"Um, listen, Kyoya," Tamaki started, uneasy about Renge's last words.

Kyoya cut him off as he explained "Miss Hoshokuji is the only daughter of a very important Otori family client. So, please be polite and try not to offend her, all right."

"Well, boys, I can't wait to work with you," Renge finished as she smiled and left.

Mina just continued watching from her spot as they all struggled to figure out what just happened. It looked like their host club was just taken over by a girl. She was dreading tomorrow, but now she was actually glad that she didn't have drama club. Being at the host club this week might be the best thing possible. Those thoughts were enough to bring a smile to her face.

* * *

Mina wasn't sure why they decided to grace her with their company. Hikaru and Kaoru were both currently sitting in front of her with their lunches. She wasn't sure what made today different. They seemed just fine sitting at the next table over yesterday, staring her down so she doubted they needed to come any closer.

"Can I help you," she asked flatly as she looked up from her lunch.

"No, but we can help you." The grin on both their faces worried her.

"Except there's nothing to help with. It's lunch. Just cause you're supposed to be watching me doesn't mean you have to be _right_ here." Mine looked down as she spoke, hoping to focus on her food and magically making them go away. "Don't you have someone else to harass?"

"No, Haruhi normally doesn't eat lunch with us," one start as they both held up their hands. "So you're the next best thing."

"Well, have fun watching me eat." Before she had a chance to take another bite though, her tray was no longer in front of her.

The thieves sat with matching smirks as each brother had a hand on her tray. "We don't have to _watch_ you eat."

Mina groaned in frustration as she looked between the two. "You know what, you can continue this torment after I know which one is which. That way I know which one I end up hitting first."

"My, my, Mina. That's not very nice," both twins said. Despite their words, the smirks still didn't leave their faces. "But if you must know."

"I'm Hikaru," the one to her left said.

"And I'm Kaoru," the other concluded.

Mina really needed to figure out which was which. There had to be some sort of give away, even a small one. And that's when she realized their hair was parted differently. At least that would help her for the rest of the day.

"You know, Mina," Hikaru spoke as he snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Most people try to hide when they're checking someone out." Both smirked as Kaoru finished voicing their opinion.

And it was enough to cause Mina to blush. The last thing she wanted was for them to think she was checking them out. "That's not what I was doing!" Mina exclaimed quickly, only to earn a laugh in return.

"No need to hide it. We're used to it from our guests." They spoke together as they leaned across the table. "Perhaps you'd enjoy lunch more if we fed it to you."

She was soon face to face with her fork as Hikaru held it in front of her. "Here, Mina. Eat up."

"But I thought you only helped me, Hikaru" Kaoru drew his brother's attention, looking hurt.

Hikaru turned to his brother, dropping her fork as he grabbed Kaoru's hands to comfort him. "Don't worry, Kaoru. You know it's different when I feed you."

That was all the persuasion Mina needed to drop her head to the table. Why did they have to act like that in front of her? She wasn't a guest that was going to melt at the sight of them. In fact, she just wanted to disappear. They had to be doing that just to get under her skin. Every time before this, they had acted like normal twins.

"We're sorry, Mina." They said as they lifted her head off the table and caressed her cheeks.

"I drew Hikaru away from you," Kaoru started before Hikaru jumped in to finish the sentence with him. "But let us make it up to you."

Mina shook her head and swatted their hands away from her before she grabbed her tray, grateful that neither was holding it now. "I wouldn't want to intrude on your moment. I'll just finish this on my own and be on my way."

Luckily Hikaru and Kaoru both dropped the antics for the rest of lunch, which Mina was grateful for. How she would have finished eating otherwise, she didn't know.

* * *

After the somewhat surprising lunch, Mina took the remainder of her classes to recover, Mina found herself sitting in the music room. She was surprised to see that she had actually beaten a few of the hosts there. She couldn't remember the last time she tried to get somewhere so fast either. Hopefully Renge would be there soon as well and she wouldn't regret racing here.

"I thought about it a lot last night, and maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea." Tamaki voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Why do you say that?" the twins asked as they looked at him.

"Well, it's fairly obvious, isn't it?" Tamaki looked at the twins, hoping to express what he clearly thought was a fantastic idea. "Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi. So if Haruhi has a girlfriend around, it could bring out the female within her. Renge's girlish air of tenderness might be able to stimulate Haruhi's own sense of femininity."

Mina wasn't sure if she should be insulted or relieved that Tamaki hadn't considered that when she first walked in. Apparently she wasn't a girl to them? "Definitely feeling the love," she mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

She looked over as she heard Haruhi say "good grief."

Deciding to let the three fools to their own plans, Mina walked over to Haruhi. "Please tell me you don't actually listen to half the crap these guys say. Does Tamaki really think hanging out with someone more feminine can really change someone that much? I worry about his head."

Haruhi laughed as she glanced at Tamaki. "Don't worry, I've gotten used to all his plans. You learn to ignore them over time." Their conversation soon shifted as they noticed that everyone was in the room now including Renge.

Renge smiled as she held something in her hand. "Hey, everyone. You'll be happy to know that your new manager, Renge, has baked all of you some cookies."

Tamaki admired the idea of Renge baking, no doubt still bouncing around the idea of her and Haruhi spending time together. "Oh, isn't she lady-like? I'm so moved by your generosity."

Renge didn't give Tamaki time to do much more admiring however as she yelled at him. "I didn't bake these cookies for you, you phony prince."

Yes, this was exactly why Mina made sure to be here. "Guess Tamaki isn't used to giving up his spotlight," Mina laughed to herself.

Renge soon turned her attention to Kyoya. "I'm sorry, I burnt them a little bit. I did the best I could. And I already know what you're going to say." She zoned out as Mina could only assume she was quoting something from that game of hers cause it certainly didn't sound like Kyoya.

It didn't stop Renge however as she replied to him. "Oh, you're always so sweet to me, Kyoya."

Mina went to grab her own cookie as she heard Honey comment on how burnt they were. It was clear Renge wasn't pleased by his and Mori's comments because Honey was suddenly crying.

"They're not that bad at all. They've got a good flavor to them." Haruhi commented and Mina had to agree.

"I've definitely had worse cookies, and they weren't even burnt," Mina added as she finished the cookie she was eating.

"May I try?"

Mina looked back towards Haruhi to see Hikaru taking a bite of the cookie in her mouth. A second later, Kaoru was beside Haruhi as well. "Oh, Haruhi, you've got crumbs on your face." And that was the only warning he gave before he got them off with his tongue. The whole scene made Mina think back to lunch. Haruhi might not have been bothered by it, but Mina was probably blushing enough for the both of them. At least that seemed to go unnoticed thanks to Tamaki making a scene.

Tamaki was pointing at the twins as he yelled. "Did you see what they just did? He took a bite-"

He didn't finish as Kyoya cut him off. "And suddenly, the trio of classmates are closer than they've ever been before.

Tamaki's words seemed to go unnoticed by Haruhi. "You know, you could've just told me and I would've wiped it off. And if you wanted to try one, there are plenty here."

Mina couldn't help but laugh at the drama between the four. Tamaki seemed to overreact to everything despite it having nothing to actually do with him. She suspected Tamaki was the reason they even did that to Haruhi.

"That's not the way you're supposed to react, Haruhi." Tamaki stood in front of her as he cupped her cheeks, trying to persuade her. "You have to stay strong and reject them, then casually brush them to the side. Do you understand?"

Haruhi shot him down. "This is sexual harassment, Senpai."

"Sexual harassment? If that counts as sexual harassment, then they're twice as guilty! Someone, call the police." Tamaki continued his rant.

"Cut it out, boss. We're sorry." The twins said, tired of listening to Tamaki's speech.

Mina shook her head at the scene before she noticed Honey offering Renge a cup. She seemed to have a thoughtful look on her face and Mina could only guess at what was going through her mind.

"Lukewarm," Renge said simply.

"Huh?" Honey seemed to be as confused as Mina.

"Every single one of you, except for Kyoya, all of your characters are lukewarm." Renge's sudden outburst seemed to catch everyone's attention, drawing everyone out of their previous conversations. "Each of you needs to have some sort of dark side. You understand? Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men who are troubled. If you keep carrying on like this, it's only a matter of time before the girls get tired of you and stop coming all together. Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyoya's business? As your manager, it's my duty to change your character backgrounds."

Well, at least Mina knew what she was thinking so intensely about. She had to admit, she was curious to see how they would react to this. She couldn't imagine Tamaki letting someone just take over like that.

"Let's start with you!" Renge yelled as she pointed at Honey. "If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're no different to a baby. Therefore, from now on, you are the baby-faced thug. And Mori-Senpai," she paused as she turned to address him, "you're his childhood-friend, the flunky." Renge gave no pause for interruption as she continued to the others. "The twins will be basketball players enslaved in their own world. Haruhi, you're an honor student who's constantly being bullied. And as for you, Tamaki, you're the school idol who's admired for your good looks but you actually have an inferiority complex you're hiding from the world. The lonely prince."

As suddenly as her intense demeanour came on, it was changed as she turned and smiled brightly at Kyoya. "And Kyoya, you're perfect just the way you are now. So I want you to stay as kind and affectionate as ever, 'kay?"

"Thank you, I'm honored," Kyoya said kindly.

"Why does Mina get out of this? She's even in drama club." Twins said as they pointed to her, now drawing attention to the fact that she was silently laughing over the idea of it. She quickly changed to looking at them in panic as she realized what they just did.

A second later, Renge was in front of her and grabbing her hands. "You are? This is perfect!" She exclaimed. "You can help make sure they portray their dark side. Oh, I bet I can even get a role for you to add to the drama!"

Now Mina was surely confused. "But I'm not even in the host club." Her comment was lost however.

"How does this look, Renge?" Tamaki said, drawing their attention as he leaned against the wall, getting into character. "Do you think these poses work for a lonely prince?"

Renge smiled as she watched Tamaki. "Oh wow, you're pretty good at that, Tamaki. But you know it would be even more effective if you were standing in the rain."

"Let's just wait to see how things turn out," Kyoya commented. "I bet it will be interesting. It always is."

Kyoya might have been right. Mina just hoped it would be a good interesting now that she was getting dragged into it.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her. And thank you to those who have favorited and reviewed. Let me know what you think and leave a review at the end of the chapter._

* * *

Mina wasn't sure what she had just walked into. School had been normal. She even got to go to drama club. Over all, it had been peaceful. Normal. The opposite of what was in front of her.

"You're finally here! Go change into this and then I'll explain!" Renge shoved a bag into her hand before ushering her away. Mina could guess that this had something to do with the camera and crew that was scattered about the area.

A few minutes later, Mina came back out as she buttoned up her sweater and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She wasn't sure why she couldn't have just stayed in uniform. There seemed to be other girls helping as extras but they didn't have to wear a mini skirt.

"You look so cute!" Tamaki exclaimed as he spotted Mina and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Haruhi, why aren't you dressed like Mina? Daddy wants to see you like that too."

Mina rolled her eyes and took a step back. "Making demands probably won't help, just so you know, Tamaki-senpai. You might need a new approach if you want Haruhi in a dress."

"You guys should be on standby! You're about to go on!" Renge yelled as she came and ushered everyone over. It seemed everyone would have to talk later. "Mina, here," she slapped a script into Mina's hand. "Learn it fast. You'll be on with Tamaki."

And not much later, Mina was standing to the side as they filmed the basketball scene with the twins.

 _The fans were cheering as everyone watched with intensity. Hikaru and Kaoru were leading the basketball team to the game's victory. All eyes were on the ball as it passed through the hoop and yells of victory filled the room. The energy quickly changed when a voice was heard over the cheers._

" _Get a stretcher! Take him to the infirmary, immediately!"_

" _Kaoru," Hikaru said in alarm, going to his brother's side. The panic was clear in his voice as he repeated his name, trying to see what was wrong._

 _The coach was soon beside them. "You've got to get back in the game, Hikaru. We need you."_

" _Shut up!" Hikaru couldn't care less about the game when his brother was like this in front of him._

 _Kaoru looked up at his brother despite the pain of his injury. "Hikaru, listen to me. Please don't worry. There's nothing you can do. You can't share my pain." He raised his hand to Hikaru's cheek. "You are not the one who got hurt. Now, go on."_

 _Tears formed in Hikaru's eyes as he grabbed his brother's hand. "I can't. It hurts. It hurts, Kaoru."_

 _The background shifted to a gloomy scene outside, rain pouring down, as Renge narrated. "Your pain is my pain. It doesn't matter to me if no one else understands. As long as we have each other, we can go on living."_

 _The Hitachiin brothers sat, still enraptured in their own world as two pair of eyes viewed them from outside. Green eyes stared hesitantly as blue eyes stared enviously._

 _Tamaki stood in the rain as he peered at the two brothers. "I'm sorry but I'm envious. The way the two of you support each other like that."_

 _Snapped out of their conversation, Hikaru looked up. "But Suou-Senpai."_

" _How can you be envious of us? You're the school's idol." Kaoru finished asking._

 _Despite the rain, Tamaki looked up at the sky. "An idol, right. I hate that people all worship me for something as superficial as my appearance. I think it would be much better for me to be alone."_

 _Mina shifted her umbrella as she finally stepped forward, causing the boys to notice her. "You don't realize it, do you? None of you do," she said softly as she looked at the ground._

" _Mina-chan?" Tamaki questions as he finally noticed her._

 _The mood was still solemn as they waited for her to respond._

 _Mina gave a sad smile as she looked at Tamaki. "Not everyone idolizes you for your looks. All you have to do is look around a bit. After knowing you for so long, I thought you would have known that."_

 _She took a breath as she turned to Hikaru and Kaoru. "Hikaru, Kaoru, you both miss so much."_

 _The twins asked together. "What do you mean?"_

 _She didn't respond for a moment, only looked down before she spoke softly. "You leave no room for others in your world… But that's fine if you want to be just the two of you forever."_

 _The narrator is heard overhead. "One lonely heart meets another. They pass each other, wounding one another. What are the hearts of these young men made of?" And the scene shifts again to follow Haruhi as he runs through the woods._

 _With nowhere else to run, Haruhi slides to sit in front of a tree, looking up to see Honey. "You can't run away forever. I'm gonna show you what happens to anyone that crosses me."_

 _Mori stood beside Honey as he attempted to stop Honey with words. "Don't do it, Mitsukuni. You should have realized by now that whenever you hurt others, you're really just hurting yourself."_

 _Honey only became angrier at his words. "I didn't ask you for any advice. You want me to put you over my knee again?"_

" _Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits these boys? Or will it be something else?" Renge narrated over the image._

 _Honey looked down at Haruhi with a dark look. "You know, it really pisses me off when people don't know their place."_

A second later, Honey was down on the ground as well hugging Haruhi as he cried, clearly breaking character. "I'm so sorry, Haru-chan! I can't do this anymore!

"Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut!" Renge's yells could be heard from across the place. "What's wrong with you? You got to stick to the script."

"But I can't," Honey cried.

"Stop rolling, cameraman," Renge snapped.

As Renge continued talking to the crew, the host club along with Mina gathered to the side, finally having the chance to relax and dry off. Mina supposed she should be glad she was allowed to use an umbrella while everyone else was getting soaked.

"How'd we go from changing our characters to shooting a movie about them?" Hikaru questioned as he sat down by his brother.

Haruhi paused as she walked through, looking at all the equipment and crew here. "And why is there an entire film crew here to shoot it?"

Kyoya looked up as he started to answer Haruhi. "Apparently, she flew them in from Hollywood. Don't you recognize the director? He directed the vampire movie, Millennial Snow. It was the number 1 grossing box-office hit in America last year."

Mina shook her head as she took a seat beside Kaoru. "I just want to know why I'm in it at all. Your guests are probably gonna want to eat me alive if they see it." She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kaoru and Hikaru. "And it'll be your fault."

"How's it our fault?" they asked simultaneously.

"You two dragged me into this by pointing me out to her." Mina leaned back as she looked up at the sky.

The brothers shared a look while her eyes were elsewhere. "We just wanted you to feel included," they said softly.

"But if it makes you feel better," Hikaru said as he leaned forward to look around his brother.

"We'll keep you safe," Kaoru finished as he gently turned her face so that she was looking at them again.

"Forget it," Mina mumbled as she looked away and scowled, trying not to blush. The twins just laughed at her discomfort.

She sighed as she dropped the topic, glad the twins did as well seeing as they wanted to go back to talking about the film.

"Another thing," Hikaru said. "How come this stupid script portrays Kaoru as the pitcher?"

Kaoru agreed with his brother's question.

Haruhi tilted her head as she looked at them. "What does that mean?"

Hikaru and Kaoru said together, "if you don't know, never mind."

Haruhi and Mina were on the same page as they looked at each other, repeating. "Pitcher?"

Mina looked over as Tamaki rushed up and smiled while drying his hair. "Haruhi! So how was I? Did you like my performance?"

"It was pretty awesome," Haruhi started. "I'm surprised you were able to get into your character like that. You were really believable."

Tamaki continued, "I've discovered a new darker side of myself. I'm stating thinking it might be a good idea to explore it."

"Are you sure about that? Because I think you're fine just the way you are now, senpai," Haruhi said.

After listening to a bit of the conversation, Mina decided to leave them alone and find something else to do until she was needed again. Though it was cute watching them talk. It made her wonder about the two of them.

Mina didn't get too much time to herself before she heard a lot of noise not too far off, and it seemed she wasn't the only one. The first thing she saw was Tamaki holding another student against the wall. Mina paused, unsure if she wanted to get into whatever was going on. She'd much rather leave the confrontation to Tamaki.

Instead, she made her way over to Haruhi but remained silent, seeing that Haruhi had her own input for Tamaki's issue with the other students. "He's telling the truth, Senpai. It wasn't their fault. They were provoked."

The second Tamaki let them go, the two guys ran off and Tamaki went back to Haruhi. Seeing that she wasn't really needed, Mina took a few steps back.

Tamaki looked at her closely after seeing her tears and asked "Haruhi, are you in any pain?"

"Yeah, it's my contact." Haruhi brought her hand down to reveal a contact on her finger.

Tamaki stared at her contact for a second. "Your contact?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, I guess it must've slipped out."

"I see how it is," Tamaki said lightly with a laugh. "You're able to cry without using eye drops. So, you're a full-fledged host now."

Mina blinked in confusion at that last comment. Eye drops? So the hosts use eye drops? Seemed kind of cheap to her. Like they needed to cry to get any of those girls anyway.

"You, you, please tell me you got that, Cameraman," Renge suddenly said, showing that she had been watching as well.

"Yes, boss," the cameraman confirmed.

Renge continued, "Other than Haruhi's contact falling out, that was an ideal final scene! All it needs now is a moving narration by my sweet Kyoya."

That was when Mina heard the resounding smash and looked to see that Kyoya had just broke the lens of the camera.

"What'd you do to my camera?" the cameraman cried as he looked at it.

Renge looked at Kyoya, confused by his actions. "Why? Is something wrong?"

Kyoya spoke to her seriously, no hint of his usual host club demeanor. "I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot allow there to be any record of a club member engaging in violence. I think you've caused enough trouble around here, Renge. Please stop being such a pest."

Tears started in Renge's eyes. "A pest? But you're supposed to pat me on the head and told me not to worry. You're supposed to be kind and affectionate, Kyoya. Why are you acting so differently now? Tell me why."

Kyoya didn't have to respond to her however because Tamaki stepped forward. "Because that's not the real Kyoya."

"Does it really matter?" Haruhi asked, jumping in as well. "Who cares if Kyoya is a little different than you expected him to be? Take a good look at the person inside and get to know him little by little. It's a lot more fun that way."

It seemed with Renge's illusion shattered, the movie was over and Mina felt fairly out of place at the moment. Deciding to take her leave while she could, she ran off to go change and head home. Perhaps a normal day at the host club would have went better. This certainly didn't seem like a good end. She could only hope that things would work out and everything would be back to normal when she went back to the club in two days.

* * *

Throughout the day, she had heard bits and pieces of conversations. What she heard couldn't possibly be right now. What were the chances of the host club actually putting out a movie after all the problems that happened at the end of it? It wasn't until she was heading to lunch that it was confirmed though. One of the girls in her class had come up to her, gushing about how lucky she was to be able to get such a good part in the movie. Everyone else she knew only got to be an extra.

And it appeared the story going around was that she won a contest or something. Mina wasn't quite clear on it but it didn't match up to the real story. That much she knew.

Deciding to just get answers herself, she settled into a seat across from the twins. "Hi, Hikaru, Kaoru. Care to explain what I clearly missed yesterday?"

"I don't know," they said as they looked at each other. "You ran off after filming without even a goodbye." They each leaned their head on their elbow as they watched her.

Hikaru glanced at his brother. "That wasn't very nice."

"So why should we be nice to you?" Kaoru asked before both pair of eyes were back on her.

Mina frowned as she folded her arms. "You don't have to. Sorry I didn't know you would want a goodbye but I can't change that now." She wasn't fond of their games and if they wanted to act like that, then she wouldn't play nice either. "I'll be sure to stay as far away as possible from you until I'm release from this _supervision_ or whatever."

"Relax, we were just joking." They said simply as they took a bite of their lunch.

"Then play that sort of joke on someone else," Mina said as she looked away from them, glaring at the wall. "If you don't want to answer my questions then just say so."

"Apparently Kyoya got the film and started selling. It's been a big hit with all the guests so far." Kaoru explained, deciding that Mina might actually hit them today if they continued their usual routine.

"So what got your panties in a knot?" Hikaru asked in a bored tone.

"Aside from the unexpected attention, there were a few jealous guests. Mostly just annoying. But it would have been nice to know that the movie did end up going out," Mina said as she stared at her food.

Both tilted their head as they watched her closely. "What do you mean annoying?"

Mina shook her head. "Exactly what it sounds like. Annoying. Girls can get bratty. They don't like the new girl getting a shining spot on the movie. Comments and looks can fuel their fire for months. Then again, that's at any school. But most of them have been nice about it."

"Well, as long as it was worth it," Hikaru said.

"What?" Mina said in confusion. "What was worth it, getting annoyed?

Kaoru shook his head at Mina. "No, making the film. It was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with _anything_? You know I like acting. It's why I'm in drama club."

"None of the girls tore you apart." They both said simply.

Hikaru pointed at her with his fork. "You could have refused."

"But you didn't, so you were obviously fine with the risk," Kaoru finished with a shrug.

"There could always be a next time." They finished together, as if they knew something she didn't.

"Doubtful," Mina said simply. "Anyway, thanks for being barely helpful. See you later."

Just as she stood up with her tray, Hikaru spoke, causing her to look back. "By the way, you should wear that mini skirt more often."

Kaoru grinned along with his brother as he continued. "It looked good on you."

Mina didn't bother responding. Instead, she quickly turned around and walked out. She was starting to think they were trying to make her blush nowadays. She really needed to work on that.


	5. Chapter 5

_Oh my goodness, I am so sorry it took me this long to get this chapter up. Real life has a way of getting in the way of everything. But I have managed to get this chapter ready to be posted so I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to those who are still following. Feel free to let me know_ _ _what you think and leave a review at the end of the chapter. It'll be nice to know people will still be reading this. - Shadowmoon  
__

 _Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her.  
_

* * *

The school week seemed to be more boring than usual. Mina probably should have been grateful for that since it seemed like it wouldn't be a boring week at home. It was only Tuesday, but it seemed like all the lessons for the week were going to be dragging on. It was why she had barely made it through her morning classes without falling asleep. On top of that, she didn't even have the host club yesterday to entertain her. Instead, she was stuck at home listening to drama she really didn't have a part in. All in all, sitting in class was better. Now she just hoped that having lunch would help.

Upon entering the lunch room, Mina couldn't help but realize that something was very off. Two familiar boys were ordering lunch; however, it was different thanks to their not-so-familiar hair colors. Mina paused as she spotted Haruhi and walked over to her. "So you _are_ in my lunch. I forgot that the twins had even mentioned that. Speaking of the twins…" She trailed off as she looked back at them, seeing them still making a fuss in line. She could only imagine what was going on. "Was this some sort of bet gone wrong?"

Haruhi shook her head as she sat down at a table. "No, they got into a fight yesterday after school. It's amazing. They're still in perfect unison even when fighting."

"I guess," Mina trailed off as she watched them with unease. "It's weird to see them fighting. I know I've only known them for a few weeks but it never seemed like they were capable of fighting with each other. They were too in sync."

There thoughts were interrupted as another voice filled the air. "I was wondering what all the fuss was about," Tamaki said as he and the rest of the host club walked into the room, drawing attention from just about everyone. "I can't believe the two of you are still fighting. You're a disgrace to the host club."

"We've had enough of this," Honey started as he stepped in between Hikaru and Kaoru. "You're both to blame for this fight. Hika-chan and Kao-chan, I want you to make up and go halfsies on this cake, 'kay?" Honey pulled out a cake and held it in front of them with a smile. It soon turned into a frown as he looked at it thoughtfully. "But I want to have a piece too. So I guess we're going to have to go thirdsies. We're not going to be able to split the strawberry on top, though. What should we do?" Mina could see both brothers getting more annoyed with each word, yet Honey continued on, oblivious. "Maybe I should just take it. After all, strawberry is all my favorite. Oh, I forgot to ask. Hika-chan, Kao-chan, do you like strawberries?"

Finally, Mori stepped in and ushered Honey off to the side. "You're just making it worse. Leave them alone."

Mina shook her head at the whole thing before she walked past everyone. "Don't kill each other while I'm gone," she said simply before going to get her lunch.

Just within the couple minutes it took to get her food, she returned to find the scene had shifted. The twins were sitting down and it seemed like they were all bickering over their lunches and trying to trade them. After a moment of this, Haruhi stood up. "I think I'm gonna go eat in my classroom after all." She grabbed her lunch and turned around, spotting Mina. "Sorry to ditch you with the guys. You might want to do the same."

Mina blinked before glancing at the boys. "That's alright, it's what you normally do. I probably would do the same but I prefer being out here… normally, at least. See you later, Haruhi."

As Mina took Haruhi's spot at the table, deciding to be a barrier for the twins she looked at Tamaki. "Are you even allowed to be here right now, Tamaki-Senpai?"

He stared at her for a moment and she was pretty sure he hadn't even considered where he was actually supposed to be. "I can't just let the twins destroy everything."

Mina laughed as she shook her head. "I doubt you should be here. It's not like Haruhi is here now anyway," she finished with a smirk.

"True," he trailed off. "I guess she's at least safe from these two." He suddenly stood up. "Then I leave them in your hands." And with that, Tamaki was gone and it was just the three of them, which was suddenly extremely awkward. Mina was starting to regret pointing that out to Tamaki. Maybe she could have ignored them until lunch was over then.

"I'm out of here." Mina snapped her head up as the pink haired twin stood up suddenly. Without another word, he walked out. If they weren't fighting, she might have actually thought that was her fault. She followed him with her eyes until he was out of sight.

Mina sighed as she looked at the twin that remained. "Guess I don't have to mediate then. Not sure I'd be willing to anyway." She bit her lip then as she studied him. "You're Kaoru? I've been trying to figure it out since I walked into lunch."

"Yeah, just look for the blue hair. So how'd you know?

Mina just shrugged and took a bite of her food. "No idea, really. Lucky guess." She paused again as she set her fork down, looking hesitant. "Uhm, so… what's with the fighting? Haruhi mentioned that it happened yesterday during host club."

"We just finally got to the truth of it all. I can't stand him and the feeling is mutual. It sucks being constantly confused with your twin."

Mina pursed her lips as she looked at him before glancing back towards where she last saw Hikaru. "That doesn't _really_ make sense though. Well, unless you're really good actors. I couldn't imagine pretending to get along that well for so long though."

"No offense," Kaoru said, "but you haven't known us very long. How would you know?"

"Cause I know what fighting with a brother looks like," she said with a shrug then she added thoughtfully. "Though I guess it would be different for twins. Either way, you guys can't fight forever or you're gonna have a lot of unhappy guests."

Kaoru leaned onto the table, turning to look at her as he smirked. "Would you be one of those guests? You never did get to truly experience what the others did."

Mina scoffed at the idea. "I don't think so. I'll pass on your brotherly love moments or whatever your guests call it."

"Lucky for you then cause I doubt they'll be happening again." Kaoru leaned back in his seat then. "Now _I'm_ curious about something. What you said before, does that mean you have a brother?"

Mina rolled her eyes at the question and let out a breath. "If you could call him that. I don't on most days. Just leave it at that."

"Alright then." And with that, they both focused back on their food and ignored all family topics. She was surprised when lunch was over. Their last bit of their conversations were almost normal. It was a nice change since it didn't leave her blushing.

As Mina started walking back to her own classroom, she paused and looked at Kaoru. "I hope you make up with Hikaru soon. For both of your sakes. Fighting is never much fun."

"We'll see," Kaoru said as he headed off before looking back and smiling. "But thanks, Mina."

* * *

With her head down on the table, Mina tuned out the conversation currently happening between most of the host club members. Hikaru and Kaoru were currently MIA, no doubt still fighting and doing who knows what. She shifted slightly, pushing her black bangs out of her face as she heard Kyoya mention Haruhi's name, only catching the end of what he was saying.

"Even though it was your tactless comment that started this whole feud between the twins in the first place, right?" Kyoya finished.

"It's weird for Hika-chan and Kao-chan to be fighting like this." Honey added as he looked at Usa-Chan. "It's never happened before."

Haruhi looked at Honey. "They've never fought before?"

Honey nodded as he explained. "I've known Hika-chan and Kao-chan since we were in pre-school. We weren't in the same year, so I never really got to talk to them. But I remember that the two of them always played together."

Mina sat silent as Tamaki added to the conversation. "Yeah, that's true. I mean, I've only known the twins since they were in middle school, but they definitely stood out. It seemed like they kept everyone at a distance except each other. Believe it or not, they were even more warped back then. When you stop and think about it, maybe this fight is a good thing for them. Maybe it means that the twins are expanding their horizons a bit. We should just leave them alone and let them work it out."

Haruhi looked out the window as she voiced her thoughts out loud. "Who knows? Maybe it is a turn for the better. But if this really is their first fight, they probably need someone to tell them when it's time to give in and call it quits. And if they've never fought before, would they even know how to make up?"

Mina sighed as she dropped her head back to the table. It was hard to comprehend this whole thing. She thought back to what Kyoya had said. What kind of comment could have possibly sparked this whole thing? They hardly cared what anyone said the rest of the time.

"Mina?" She looked up to see Haruhi sitting next to her now.

"What's up?" she asked as she finally sat up fully.

"Nothing, you looked down." Haruhi said simply.

Mina smiled before she shook her head. "No, just tired. I ended up staying up late reading. And it doesn't mix very well with Hikaru and Kaoru's fighting. Shame this couldn't have happened tomorrow. I could have ignored it and gone to drama instead."

"You don't seem to be trying to run out of here anymore though."

"True, guess I've gotten used to the craziness," Mina said as she laughed. "It's actually pretty fun for the most part. Wouldn't have imagined saying that when I first walked in here."

Mina twisted around in her seat so that she was facing Haruhi. "So can I ask what you said to the twins yesterday? I gathered that Kyoya might blame you, but they wouldn't be fighting without their own reasons, comment or not."

"I just said that Hikaru acts more mischievous than Kaoru. Their guests asked how I could tell them apart."

Mina nodded as she thought over what she said. It kind of made sense when she thought about it. She never paid attention to which twin was doing what since she could hardly tell them apart up until a few days ago. "If they're fighting because of a comment like that though, then they're ridiculous. They're both plenty mischievous either way."

* * *

Mina was surprised to see Hikaru and Kaoru show up before the host club was finished for the day. It also seemed like Tamaki didn't give them a choice in doing so though. She knew she could kiss the peace and quiet away in the room.

"Don't you guys think that maybe it's time you give up all this fighting? It's driving me insane." Tamaki said as he looked between the two.

Unsure how this would turn out, Mina stood up from her chair but watched things unfold. She felt like things had gotten far worse since lunch earlier.

Hikaru glared at Tamaki. "What'd you say? It's driving you insane? You've gotta be kidding me. How do you think I feel right now? Every time I look in the mirror, I see his face." He said with a gesture towards Kaoru. "I'm sick and tired of constantly being mistaken for you, Kaoru! The truth is I hate your guts!"

Kaoru shot right back. "You took the words right out of my mouth. In fact, I hate you so much I bought this," he didn't waste a second as he pulled out the curse doll Nekozawa-senpai had, "Belzenef, the curse doll. I'm going to complete the curse, Hikaru. I'm going to write your name on his back. From this day forward, you're going to experience nothing but misfortune and sorrow!"

Before either could do anything else, Haruhi hit them both and yelled. "Would you guys knock it off? What do you think you're doing?" She snatched the doll as they both looked up at her in shock. "You don't bring something like this into a petty fight. Both of you are at fault here but what's really sad is that you brought everyone else around you into your big mess! Now apologize to each other! If you don't make up right now, I'll never let you come over to my house. Have I made myself clear?"

There was a pause as Hikaru and Kaoru looked at Haruhi. And suddenly, they said in unison, "So then what you're saying, Haruhi, is that if we make up, we can come over to your place?"

"I'm so sorry, Kaoru. Even though I was just following our script, I said such awful things to you. I'm not fit to be your brother," Hikaru said as he held his brother.

"Don't say that, Hikaru," Kaoru countered. "I was so worried. I couldn't live with myself if I ever thought I had hurt you."

"Kaoru, I'll never let you go again."

"Hikaru."

Mina just watched in silence as all the pieces fell into place and she clenched her hands, narrowing her eyes on the twins.

Honey was the first to jump in, voicing his shock. "You gotta be kidding. You mean you guys were faking it this whole time?"

Hikaru and Kaoru shrugged at his question. "We didn't have anything else to do. We were bored."

Haruhi looked down as she dropped the cursed doll and slid to the floor. "They totally fooled me.

"Twins with too much time on their hands... are the devil." Those were the last words she heard from Tamaki before she stormed out the door, missing the pair of eyes that lingered on the door even after she was gone.

* * *

Lunch had come too quickly the next day. She had been too angry after she had gone home to focus on anything. If she had thought about it, she certainly would have packed a lunch for today. Anything to avoid seeing the twins at all. She was calmer than yesterday, but that didn't mean she wouldn't potentially punch them in the middle of the school.

And just as she feared, two trays were soon dropped to the table in front of her followed by some familiar faces. "Go find another table," she snapped, not bothering to look up from her food.

"Don't be upset about yesterday. We were just having fun."

The only response they received was a glare. They might have been having fun but it seemed that they had no concern for those around them.

"I don't know what you're so upset about," Hikaru said as he waved a spoon in her face.

Kaoru nodded. "At least you didn't have to put up with us during class."

Mina let out a breath slowly and closed her eyes. "Just cause your friends have forgiven you doesn't mean I have."

"Sorry," they said as they leaned forward. "How about we make it up to you?"

"No." Mina stood up and grabbed her tray. She had no intention of staying here with them any longer if they were just going to annoy her. Clearly, they had no idea what they actually did wrong.

Mina only got a few steps away before someone grabbed her wrist. "Wait, we said we were sorry." She looked back to see that Kaoru had grabbed her while Hikaru was still in his seat. "You can at least tell us why you're so mad."

"You're both idiots," she snapped as she snatched her wrist from him. "Look, you obviously don't see anything wrong in what you did so, please, continue as you were."

"Good, that's what we're gonna do anyway." She glanced back at Hikaru's words.

"Enjoy your lunch." And with that, Mina left the twins to themselves.


	6. Chapter 6

_Welcome to another chapter! Hope you have been enjoying it. Leave a review at the end and let me know what you think. It's much appreciated. Now enjoy the story_

 _Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her._

* * *

The week had come to a close and all Mina had been looking forward to was a weekend at home. She had spent the last two days avoiding the twins at lunch, and thankfully she only had to go to the club for one afternoon, which she was fairly successful at her attempt to ignore them during.

It seemed like everything would be perfect for a few days of relaxation as she left her home with the intention of enjoying some time to herself when she was suddenly thrown over a shoulder and shoved into a car. Apparently going for a walk was out of the question. She blinked as she looked up to see the host club sitting around her.

"I see I wasn't the only one to be kidnapped," Haruhi said as she smiled at Mina.

"Do I even want to know why we were kidnapped?" Mina looked around, though purposely didn't make eye contact with Hikaru and Kaoru.

"It's time to relax!" Tamaki exclaimed. "You'll see the surprise when we get there."

Though she couldn't help but think that she could relax more on her own, she definitely could see Tamaki's point.

While Mina knew not to be too surprised by anything the host club did, she was surprised by this. There was a tropical paradise in front of her, at least, in a way it was. Beyond all the plant life were pools in front of her and tall waterslides as far back as she could see in there. The waterpark laid out in front of her was the most extravagant one she had ever seen. And while she would hate to admit it, she was pretty excited. Whether or not she had to spend it with the host club, she surely wasn't going to waste the day here.

"So someone better tell me I'm not stuck here without a swimsuit cause you kidnapped me without a word."

She barely got the words out before she was being ushered towards the changing rooms. "No worries," the twins said in unison.

"We have several designs set up for you to pick from."

"Great." Mina said quickly, not giving them the chance to get any more words out, as she stepped into the room so she could find something to change into. Regardless of who she had to thank, or ignore, for the swimsuits, she wanted to find one and move on.

Upon seeing all the swimsuits though, Mina wasn't sure if she was still in a changing room or if she had walked into a store. There were far more than she had expected and it didn't take her long to find one she liked either. It was a simple green bikini with purple ties, but it made her eyes stand out more than usual. Once she was changed, she pulled her hair up and headed back out into the park.

It seemed like Mina was the last one to come out, seeing everyone already spread out and relaxing or swimming.

There was one thing on her mind though and seeing as Kyoya was currently sitting by himself, she figured she could talk to him about it. "Hi, Kyoya-Senpai. So, I was wondering…" She trailed off as she tried to word it correctly. "I'm not a host, and it's not like you brought any guests, so why exactly am I here?"

"The more, the merrier!" Tamaki exclaimed suddenly jumping into the conversation. "Why shouldn't you come? Think of it as a gift!" He said with a grin.

Mina somehow doubted that it was a gift. This place would cost money and she couldn't imagine Kyoya just inviting her along for the hell of it. She looked back at Kyoya once Tamaki went back to his other distractions. "So should I be thanking you for covering the costs or do I actually owe you?"

Kyoya looked up as he smirked. "No need. As Tamaki said, think of it as a gift, though I don't need any thanks. While it is owned by my family, it hasn't opened yet to the public."

"Okay," Mina said before dropping it. If she didn't owe anything, then she wasn't going to press it.

She was about two seconds from running to the pool when she spotted Haruhi sitting down as well. "What's with the clothes? Don't you want to go swimming?"

Haruhi shook her head as she set her drink on the table. "Not really. I'm not all that into water parks."

"What? You're crazy, I love water parks." Mina laughed as she shook her head. "Well, suit yourself. Maybe we can take a walk in a little bit if you don't mind waiting. I bet there's a lot to see in this place, but I still need to swim first."

"Sure, sounds like fun. And don't worry about rushing."

"Alright," Mina said as she smiled and went off towards the pool. It looked like Mori and Honey were already having fun in the current pool, though that wasn't quite her style. It just seemed like more work and less fun. So the large pool it was. If she was lucky, it might even be a wave pool from the looks of it.

Mina looked up from where she was floating as she heard some of the boys yelling. It seemed like Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru were in the middle of a water gun war. And they seemed pretty focused on each other. Perhaps she could get her own little victory in on some unsuspecting boys. She smirked as she swam over to the edge of the pool closest to where they were playing, hiding just below the edge of the pool so they wouldn't see her immediately. All she had to do was wait. She might not have been too mad anymore, but it was still a good opportunity for revenge.

A minute later, Tamaki ran by as he screamed while the twins were shooting at his back. And being only a few feet from the edge, Mina took her shot and splashed the both of them with water from the pool. "Do I win?" she asked as she laughed looked at their shocked faces. Her eyes soon widened as she was staring at both guns pointed at her face. She screamed before she pushed herself back under water and swam away. The second she resurfaced, she was greeted with a silence that worried her.

It wasn't until she heard the splash directly behind her that she realized she was doomed. Two sets of arms grabbed her, lifting her out of the water as she let out a scream. "It doesn't look like you're winning to us," the twins said as they threw her into the water.

Mina coughed as she rose out of the water and glared at the boys. "Was that necessary?"

"Sure was," Hikaru started.

"Otherwise you'd have thought you won." Kaoru finished.

"I thought you were going after Tamaki. Besides, I was only doing that for revenge," Mina mumbled as she glanced away from them.

"Aw, don't tell us you're still mad," they said as they leaned on her shoulders.

"I'm not _mad_ , but it's still annoying that you don't know why I was mad to begin with." Mina figured she couldn't hold a grudge forever. While she might have been petty at times, she did tend to get over things quicker than she let on.

"Then tell us," they said simply. "There's no point in what _you're_ doing."

Mina shrugged them off of her and crossed her arms, taking a few steps away from them. "Not everybody likes getting dragged into your antics. I'll make sure not to care next time something happens cause I'll just assume it's an act. And you did all that just to get your way. That's really low. Some of us have enough stuff to deal with. We don't need nonexistent problems on top of it."

"We already said we were sorry so," before the twins could finish their sentence, they were suddenly sprayed in the face by water.

"Found you!" Tamaki yelled as he appeared off to the side. "You guys disappeared but I still won!"

"That doesn't count, boss," Hikaru said as he chased Tamaki out of the water, continuing their fight.

It seemed like her words were suddenly lost. Mina sighed as she looked over at Kaoru. "Don't you have a war to win?"

"Depends," Kaoru said. "Are you still mad. I'm sorry we made you worry. I didn't think it would upset anyone that much."

"Yeah, it's fine. Now go beat Tamaki." Mina gave a weak smile as she gestured towards where they disappeared to.

"I hope things get better with your brother." At those words, Mina looked at him wide-eyed. She was surprised he said that since she had only mentioned her family problems briefly. Of course, it was true. Mina just smiled and gestured again for him to go follow his brother.

They didn't have a chance to part ways however as they noticed a shift in the water and heard some of the others calling for Honey.

They ran out just in time to see a giant wave come crashing over Honey and washing him away.

Wasting no time, Tamaki raised his hand as he shouted "Gentlemen, we're going after Honey-Senpai! That pool looks like the quickest way! Charge!" The second the words left his mouth, he was moving and everyone else was following. Mina wasn't sure about his reasoning but the last thing she wanted was to be left behind.

Mina paused as she heard Kyoya speak. "Wait, I wouldn't go…"

He didn't need to finish those words as the host club members realized why. Everyone let out a scream simultaneously as they nearly ran into the sharp toothed creatures. "There are alligators in there!" And as quickly as before, everyone turned, moving in a new direction.

"Okay, so we can't choose that pool! Then let's try this way next!" Tamaki continued to lead, clear on his mission.

"They're here, too!" the twins shouted as they rounded more of the park and found more alligators.

"And here!" Haruhi yelled. "What's with all the alligators?" It seemed like every path led to alligators but none of them lead to Honey.

Tamaki looked at her. "Beats me."

Mina took a deep breath as they finally got away. "It doesn't seem like a good attraction to me. Man, I even like alligators but not like this," she finished in disappointment.

"Those alligators belong to the park's tropical animals exhibit," Kyoya began explaining as he wrote in his notebook. "I guess it is kind of dangerous to let them run wild. Though, the cause of our present situation seems to be the location of the switch for the current pool. I'll have to have a little chat with our designers. Thanks a lot, you guys. I got some great data today."

"You what!?" Everyone yelled together.

Their initial shock at being test subjects was quickly overlooked as they moved back to their main focus. There wasn't time to worry about anything else.

Kyoya pointed out a map as everyone moved over to look at it. "This is a map of the Tropical Aqua Garden. This is our current location. We need to get here. I have a feeling that's where Honey-Senpai probably ended up. It might be tough because to get there, we'll have to make it through this jungle area, here in the southern block. Distance wise we're talking about 800 meters."

Haruhi spoke up after studying the map. "Looks like there are a lot of undeveloped areas. Any idea what might be lurking in those parts of the jungle?"

"Nothing good I bet," Mina mumbled.

"Since they're still being developed, I'm afraid I don't know," Kyoya finished.

"Whatever's out there could be even more dangerous..." Hikaru started.

"...than alligators." Kaoru finished.

"All right! Now, this is a mission of survival!" Tamaki spoke as if he were trying to give a motivational speech, though it seemed wasted by the others expressions. "I know we can make it through the treacherous jungle in one piece. It is our sworn duty to save Honey-Senpai!"

Once they walked off in a new direction, it didn't take them long to find themselves surrounded by plants and trees, as if they were no longer in a water park but actually outdoors somewhere.

"Wow, this place is just like a real jungle, huh?" Tamaki said as he looked around.

"As long as we don't get lost like we probably would in a real jungle." Mina said as she walked quietly in the back of the group, listening.

Haruhi nodded as she looked around as well. "Yeah, and I keep hearing all these really strange animal calls."

Hikaru spoke. "You don't think that all those animal sounds..."

"...could belong to the real thing, do you?" Kaoru questioned.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. But I do know that my family always strives for authenticity whatever the cost." Kyoya said.

As Kyoya finished his explanation, Mina watched as Mori tripped while he walked.

"Mori-Senpai is..." Hikaru started.

"Acting as clumsy as you do, boss," Kaoru finished.

"Way to be tactful," Mina said the same time Tamaki yelled at them.

"Shut up!"

That was when Mina heard a tone ring and she looked around for the sound.

Just then, Kyoya spoke up as the first drops started. "Uh oh, it's about time for the squall."

And just as quickly as the wave came, the rain started pouring down. As chance had it, there was a hut nearby and everyone raced towards it, managing to avoid getting completely drenched in the rain.

This whole water park was turning into a mess. Free or not, Mina doubted she'd ever come back here. First off, she was greatly wishing she had on more clothes. Running around a jungle in just a bikini didn't seem all that comfortable to her. Apparently it was well kept though since she wasn't too concerned about not having shoes, nor were any of the guys. She sighed as she sat down and looked out. She hoped Honey wasn't stuck out there in the rain. Then again, they were inside. They shouldn't have been stuck in the rain regardless.

It seemed like this was the first time she had a chance to really take in anything since she first walked into the park. As she sat on the bench, she watched everyone settle in to their current sanctuary. And she could feel herself blushing as she set her eyes on each of the boys. It certainly wasn't the first time she's seen guys shirtless, but she seemed to have forgotten just how good looking the host club was. She quickly looked away before any of them caught her blushing. She didn't have time to think about silly things like that.

As she focused on the rain, she relaxed and let her thoughts shift. She had to admit she was glad for a short break. Perhaps she should start working out more, not that she normally ran away from alligators very often. She closed her eyes as she leaned her head back against the side of the hut. She opened her eyes when the others' conversation caught her attention.

"The Morinozukas have been serving the Haninozuka family for generations," Kyoya said. Mina shifted her eyes to look at Mori. She wasn't sure what part of the conversation she had missed to bring up the explanation but it was surprising.

Hikaru continued on after Kyoya. "However, two generations ago, the families became relatives by marriage and the master-servant relationship soon became a thing of the past."

"But even so, Mori-Senpai has always made a point to accompany Honey-Senpai," Kaoru said as he finished the explanation.

"Must really get his blood going. The blood of a loyal servant flows like a mighty river through Mori-Senpai's vein," Tamaki said in admiration.

"Such a beautiful story! I'm touched!" the twins said as they teared up over it.

Mina wasn't sure how any of their minds worked in order to react like that. She just shook her head and zoned them all out again, watching as the rain started to slow down.

It wasn't long after the rain stopped that Mina noticed that Mori took off with Haruhi following after him. Meanwhile, Tamaki was still arguing with the twins as they made fun of him and it sounded like Kyoya was on the phone with help of some sort.

Mina stood up as she walked to the edge of the hut. "Hey, guys?" She paused for a moment when she got no response. "Guys?" She said louder this time. "Oh come on," she mumbled before she yelled at them. "Guys!" She shook her head as the others jumped as they suddenly realized she was talking to them. "You do realize Mori and Haruhi left, right?"

"What?" Tamaki yelled as he dashed over to her and shook her shoulders. "How could you let my precious Haruhi wander off into the jungle? What if she gets eaten by alligators?" He cried, nearly in tears.

"Tamaki-Senpai, she'll be fine. She's with Mori-Senpai. However, I didn't let her wander off. She can do what she wants. Now can we get moving?"

Kyoya nodded as he replied. "Actually, my family's private police force is going to send in a search and rescue team to help us. They're better equipped to find Honey-Senpai than we are. So let's just go back to the gate and wait there. I'm sure we'll meet Mori-Senpai and Haruhi there as well."

Mina wasn't sure she liked the plan very much, but she had to agree. A police force would probably find them quicker. And that would prevent them from getting any more lost. And with that decided, they headed back towards the front gate.

As the group walked, Mina fell behind slightly, letting them lead the way. The last thing she wanted was to be the first one to find the next dangerous thing in their way. It didn't take long to see that luck was on their side though. It seemed that they found a calm path to follow on the way back. The jungle setting really was nice now that they weren't running into animals that would eat them and the sun was shining down again.

"Looks like we don't have to worry anymore." Mina blinked as she looked over to see Hikaru on her left.

"And that means we can take it easy." Kaoru said, appearing on her right.

"I don't know about that…" She trailed off as she slowed her steps and looked off to the side. "There's still a lot that could happen. And now we have three friends somewhere out there. I wouldn't be so relaxed about it."

"Don't worry about it. Honey-Senpai can take care of himself and with Mori-Senpai out there, it'll be fine." They said in unison before they turned around, walking backwards so they could face her. "And that means we can have fun." A grin overcame both their faces.

"You probably thought," Hikaru started.

"We didn't notice," Kaoru continued.

"That you were blushing back at the hut," they finished together.

"That's the second time we've caught you checking us out."

"I was not!" Mina yelled. Yet despite her denial, she could feel herself blushing again. "You were seeing things."

"No need to be embarrassed." Hikaru said as he and his brother stopped walking and ran a finger along Mina's cheek after she nearly ran into them.

"But you are cute when you blush." Kaoru smirked as he grabbed her hand as she tried to back away from them.

"You know it might not have been you guys I was checking out anyway," she said quietly. "Come on, Tamaki-senpai and Kyoya-senpai are going to leave us behind."

Hikaru just grinned. "Why, when we can have some time alone right here?"

"I thought only _we_ spent time alone, Hikaru," Kaoru said as he frowned, suddenly focusing on Hikaru instead of Mina.

"It would be nothing like _our_ time alone, Kaoru. But I could always make it up to you later." Hikaru said as he moved to hold Kaoru.

Mina shook her head, blushing more as she quickly moved around them. "Good, then you can stay here alone. Leave me out of it."

Before she could get far though, Mina's arm was caught, keeping her from walking away. "We're sorry, Mina."

"We didn't mean to leave you out."

She turned around to see Hikaru holding onto her. "Forget it. If it makes you feel better, then invite me next time. Now can we go?" Mina whined as she tugged her arm free and spun around.

Hikaru laughed as she stormed away. "Sounds like fun, Mina."

"Screw you." She shot back as she rushed to catch back up with Tamaki and Kyoya, hoping the rest of the walk would go quickly.

All conversations were dropped as they suddenly heard the sound of fighting. Mina looked on in alarm as Tamaki suddenly started charging forward with the others. "Hurry! Haruhi could be in danger!"

It didn't take long to reach a clearing and Mina saw what she could only assume was Kyoya's police force all lying on the ground with Honey standing in the middle.

"Haruhi! Haruhi, are you all right!?" Tamaki yelled as he spotted Haruhi and ran up to her.

Honey pointed out as he spotted the others. "Hey, it's Tama-chan."

Hikaru said as he looked around the area. "Oh, wow."

"You okay, senpai?" Kaoru questioned.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki yelled as he latched onto her with a hug. "I was so worried."

"I'm not sure what happened here," Hikaru said as he poked one of the police on the ground. "But at least they're still alive."

Kaoru continued poking one of the police beside Hikaru. "It's pretty amazing that this is Honey-Senpai's work. He must have really been holding back."

"Huh? What do you mean he was holding back?" Haruhi asked as she pinched Tamaki's hand, causing him to release her.

"So then..." Kaoru started as he looked at her.

"You don't know about senpai? The Haninozukas are famous for their martial arts. Not only have they helped train the police and SDF forces but they've also worked with several overseas militaries." Hikaru explained.

"I don't understand how they expect us to know everything about everyone," Mina said to herself as she listened.

"Honey-Senpai, in particular, has been called the dreadnought of the Haninozuka family. By the time he was in middle school, he'd become the national champion in both karate and judo." Kyoya cut in with his own additional information.

Tamaki added, "Mori-Senpai's no slouch either. He won the national championship in kendo when he was just in middle school."

"So, how were you able to find us, Honey-Senpai?" Kaoru asked as everyone looked at Honey.

"It wasn't hard. It didn't take me long to reach the end of the current pool, so I decided to look for you guys."

"We humbly apologize!" The police force suddenly said as all of them bowed down in apology. Mina watched in wonder as several of them shouted out which dojo they went to and continued their apology.

Honey stared at them as he asked. "Why? Is something wrong?"

The police wasted no time in replying. "Yes, sir! We're so sorry, sir! We were unaware that we were searching for Mitsukuni Hanozuka. We've committed a terrible offense here. I apologize for this confrontation. But my Dojo will be so excited to hear that I've come face to face with the great Haninozuka. I cherish this moment."

Honey marched over to Mori and pulled him down so he could pat his head. "Takashi, you did an amazing job of protecting Haru-chan. I bet you were pretty lonely without me around, huh?"

"I don't know if I'd say that," Mori replied.

"You know, maybe we should go to the beach next," Hikaru commented.

"Yeah, the beach would be nice." Kaoru added.

Just the thought of going to the beach sounded perfect to Mina, though she wondered if those plans would include her or not. It was definitely weird living just on the outside of the host club.

Just at the mention of the idea, Tamaki got upset and looked at the twins. "You idiots, Haruhi is not interested in anything like that."

"Actually, I might like to go to the beach," Haruhi cut in, correcting Tamaki. "I may not be into this silly water park, but I like the ocean. It would be nice to go to the beach. And it's so pretty."

At Haruhi's input, Tamaki quickly changed what he was saying. "Yeah. All right. Then that's where we'll go next time."

Honey looked at Tamaki in question. "We're all gonna go to the beach, Tama-chan?" He smiled as he then looked at Mori. "That'll be fun, don't you think?"

"Yeah." Mori agreed.

Mina just hoped if she did go, that it wouldn't be as lively as this trip. One disaster was enough for her.


	7. Chapter 7

_Bit of a longer chapter here. This is also one of the chapters that has a lot of influence from the manga for some additional fun. Doesn't make much difference if you've read it or not though seeing as most of the story does follow the anime. I hope you enjoy it!_

 _ _Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina and the personal storyline related to her.__

* * *

It was potentially a perfect weekend. Mina took in a deep breath and smelled the ocean air. She wasn't sure if she got to come simply because the host club brought their gusts along, but she was at the beach and that was all that mattered. Smiling as she looked out at the waves, Mina pulled her bag from her shoulder and grabbed her towel. Everything she could possibly need was in her bag. A towel, sunscreen, a book, and snacks. And now she could lose track of the day.

Part of Mina found it strange that they would go to the beach just a week after the water park. Apparently when they mentioned going here next, she should have expected it to be almost immediately. She supposed she was still used to taking trips less often. She couldn't afford them before and she was pretty sure her family didn't have time for it after the business took off.

Her thoughts didn't linger for long as she looked around at everyone doing their own thing. It didn't take them long to get into their routine of hosting it seemed. Whether they were sitting and talking with the girls or running around and playing, they all seemed fairly occupied. Perhaps that meant an actual peaceful day at the beach. She might need to drag someone in the water with her later, but laying out to get a tan certainly didn't require company.

Mina took off her sun dress so she was in her white and black floral print bikini before she settled onto her towel and pulled out her sun tan lotion. It was still strange to see all the guys playing host since she hadn't been expecting her weekend to be filled with so many people, but it wouldn't bother her. All she needed was the sun and the sea.

"Need any help, Mina?" a voice teased in her ear as the lotion was pulled out of her hand, causing her to jump slightly in surprised.

"Don't do that," she snapped as she took a breath and looked between Hikaru on her left and Kaoru holding her lotion on her right.

"We didn't mean to startle you," Kaoru said as poured some of the lotion on his hand.

"We just wanted to help you," Hikaru said as he gently slid her long hair over her shoulder so it was off her back.

Mina quickly shifted to face Hikaru and grabbed her hair out of instinct, twisting it. "That's quite alright. I can manage on my own." That was when she realized her mistake.

"Just relax, it's quicker this way," Kaoru whispered in her ear as he slid his hands across her back, rubbing in the lotion.

Mina shifted her eyes down, hoping if she shut up, it would go quicker. And hopefully that would keep her calm, though it was doubtful. She suspected she was already fairly red and the amused look on Hikaru's face did nothing to deter those thoughts.

"Let me help, Kaoru. You missed a spot." Before Mina could protest, Hikaru had the lotion in hand and rubbed it over her shoulders and arms. "Can't have you getting burned."

"Right, thanks," Mina quickly said as she turned around and grabbed the lotion. "I think I'm good now. Go back to what you were doing. I'm just gonna… go see what the water feels like." She scrambled to stand up after finishing her excuse. She mostly just needed away from them. And the cool water wouldn't hurt.

Mina stood by the edge of the water, waiting to see if they would follow or not. After a minute of silence, she turned to see the twins huddled together and laughing as they headed towards the volley ball net. At least it meant she had some peace. Now that she was down here, she realized the water felt even better than she imagined. Mina pulled a hair tie off her wrist and put her hair up before she braced herself before she ran out and jumped into the water.

She stayed out in the water for a while before finally coming back out with the intention of laying out. She didn't get very far though as she suddenly heard her name being called.

"Mina-chan! You should help us get shells too!" Honey yelled as he held up a bucket full of different things.

"Is that what everyone is doing?" Mina laughed a little as she looked at the cluster of people looking at something on the beach.

"Yeah! Come on!" And then Mina was dragged by her hand over to the group. "Mina's gonna help us collect them!" Honey shouted as he took his spot and pulled her down with him.

She looked over to see Tamaki picking up a crab. "Tell me, Haruhi. Isn't this crab crab-tivating?"

Mina laughed at is words and shook her head.

That was before all eyes landing on the crab in his hand, and more specifically, something crawling on it.

"Centipede!" several of the girls shouted as they ran away.

Granted that Mina saw no reason to run, she still scooted away slightly as she watched Haruhi go and grab the centipede before she tossed it away. Mina grimaced just at the idea of touching it.

"Hey, Haruhi," the twins said, drawing her attention.

"Now I know most girls aren't really the buy-loving type and I certainly didn't think you were, but…" Hikaru started.

"Don't you think you could've been easy on that little guy?" Kaoru finished asking.

Haruhi looked over as she spoke. "Oh, come on. It's not dead. It takes a lot more than that to kill a bug."

"True, it's probably better that Haruhi did that anyway." Mina said.

"Haruhi is so brave and manly," one of the girls spoke. It seemed that some of them had come back over to watch the show.

"It's still so sweet," another said as she smiled at Haruhi.

And this is exactly why Mina couldn't imagine being around Haruhi and any of the guests. They were so oblivious. She didn't get it. "I'm gonna go lay out," Mina said with a shake of her head before she went back to her towel.

Mina didn't get through very many pages in her book before she noticed a few shadows fall over her. She blinked when she looked up to see some of the guests standing in front of her. Certainly not what she expected.

"Hi, Mina. A few of us are going into that cave with Hikaru, Kauro, and Haruhi. They mentioned that you were going to come along. Want to walk up with us?"

Mina blinked as she looked at the brunette that just finished speaking, then towards the cave she had gestured towards. She didn't remember ever agreeing to that… It certainly made her wonder what those twins were probably up to, though walking through a cave could be fun anyway.

"Um, yeah. Thanks for letting me know. I'd have hated to miss it," she said with a smile as she put her book away. She reminded herself that she was supposed to be a _guest_ anyway so she might as well act like it a bit.

Mina eyed the cave as the girls walked over to it. "Does nobody find it weird that there's a cat shaped cave here?"

"No. It's Nekozawa-Senpai's family beach." One of the girls said as they looked over at Mina. "Didn't you know that? He was here a little bit earlier even."

"Really?" Mina asked in disbelief. She assumed it was while she was swimming, but it was hard to imagine someone like that out on a sunny beach.

Mina did her best to carry on a little more small talk, all while steering clear of any host-based fangirling topics, before they were finally outside of the cave.

Hikaru faced everyone as they stood at the edge of the cave and started to walk inside. "This is the place," he said while dragging out the words, trying to create a creepy atmosphere. "It's said that the locals seldom come here because the cursed members of the Nekozawa family are buried in the cave walls here."

"They say that the only time you can even find this cave is at low tide." Kaoru continued as kept the flashlight facing forward, moving deeper into the cave. "Evidently, many people have died down here from drowning. And their souls still linger, taking revenge on anyone who happens to come inside."

Mina followed silently as she listened to the story. She wasn't sure what the point of was this, but if they wanted to scare their guests, it looked like they were doing a good job of it. Right after they finished talking, a shadowy figure appeared, causing the girls to scream.

"Really," Mina mumbled as she started walking towards where the figure was. "I didn't know I signed up for a haunted house tour."

"What's going on? Are you trying to freak me out?"

Mina turned around to see a skeleton hand on Haruhi's shoulder. Mina couldn't help while stifling a snicker that if that's what they were trying to do, then the twins failed miserably.

"What's wrong with you?" Kaoru asked as he held up the shadow puppet. "I thought everyone was afraid of ghosts."

"But I've never seen a real one." Haruhi said simply.

"You're not gonna scare anyone with those tactics anyway. It's like props for a really lame horror movie," Mina added as she shook her head. "Well, this wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be." Just a casual walk through the cave probably could have been fine. Exploring just for the sake of being inside a cave, but oh well.

"And what would you have suggested?" Hikaru said as he came up beside Mina while leading the other girls back out of the cave.

Mina rolled her eyes as she looked at him. "I don't know. Not _that_. Walking alone is always scarier than in a group to start with. And you don't need props, just sounds. The imagination is scarier than anything visible. Really, haven't you guys watched a scary movie before?"

"Huh, I wouldn't have pinned you as a horror movie buff." Kaoru said as he joined the conversation.

"Well, thanks for the tip, Mina."

"Right, well have fun trying to scare Haruhi or whatever you're trying to do," she said with a quick wave before she left to go back to her book. Her assumption about having some alone time definitely seemed to be wrong.

It was some time later when things sounded like they had finally settled down. Everyone was doing their own thing and Mina was finally getting somewhere in her book and with her tan. She looked up when she started hearing yelling. Dropping her book on her towel, Mina got up and rushed over to see what was going on.

That's when she noticed some guys she didn't recognize up on a cliff with Haruhi and some of the girls. She ran faster, worried about what was going on. In little more than a blur, things seemed to happen and next thing she knew was Tamaki yelling Haruhi's name as he jumped after her, off the ledge and into the ocean water below.

The second they were both out of sight, Mina watched Hikaru and Kaoru turn on intruders, wasting no time in throwing punches at them. Unsure what to do, she backed up slightly, eyes wide and heart beating fast as she glanced around, shifting her focus from the twins, to the cliff, and back to the others that were also nearby. Feeling the need to do something, Mina approached the girls that had been standing up there and led them away from the scene, pushing them gently towards the beach. Once the other girls were out of the way, she looked back at the beating going on in front of her and grimaced, placing her hand over her mouth. "Kaoru! Hikaru!" she shouted, hoping to get their attention. "That's enough!"

Despite her attempt, they didn't respond to her words so she then turned towards Kyoya instead. "Stop them. Surely killing someone won't be good for business." She stayed where she was and stared at him until she was sure he would something, then removed herself from the situation. As she turned quickly to head back towards the shore, she only glanced back once more at the scene that was ending. She didn't want to watch them act that violently even if the guys deserved it.

It seemed she was just in time. Mina held her breath as she saw Tamaki carrying Haruhi out of the water.

"Haru-chan!" Honey yelled as they got closer.

"Boss!" Hikaru yelled, the rest of the group following.

"Where'd they go?" Tamaki asked as he lowered Haruhi and Mina finally relaxed, seeing that Haruhi seemed fine.

"We took their ID cards and respectfully asked them to leave." Kyoya explained. "The girls all went back to the hotel and I called a doctor. He should be arriving here any minute now."

"Thank you," Tamaki said.

Haruhi shifted as she looked at them. "I'm fine, you guys. I don't need a doctor."

Tamaki turned to her after hearing her words and put his hands on her shoulders. "What were you thinking? You know, you're not like Honey senpai. You're not a martial arts master. Why did you confront them? What made you think you would stand a chance? You against two boys?"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes. "But it doesn't matter that they're boys and I'm a girl. I was there. I had to do something. There wasn't any time to think."

Mina bit her lip as she watched the exchange. It didn't sound like it would end well.

"That's no excuse, you idiot," Tamaki snapped. "Don't forget, you're a girl."

That comment quickly helped Mina pick a side however as she got defensive for Haruhi, though she certainly didn't need help it seemed.

"Look, I'm sorry you had to come and save me, senpai. But I don't understand why you're so mad at me right now. I don't think I did anything wrong." Haruhi said simply.

"You don't think so?" Tamaki asked as he dropped his arms and stepped back. "Fine, whatever you say. But I'm not speaking to you until you can admit that you were wrong!" He turned around and walked off, leaving the rest where they were.

Mina watched Tamaki leave as she spoke her words under her breath. "Was that really necessary?" She turned to Haruhi then. "Let me grab my stuff and we can go inside together."

* * *

Mina looked out the window as she sat on a chair in Haruhi's room, her bag by her feet since they had decided to get ready for dinner together. She was hoping the sunlight would last a while since it appeared lights weren't a necessity in the Nekozawa's vacation home.

"Those guys really drive me crazy sometimes."

"You don't think I was wrong?" Haruhi asked as she looked up from digging through her bag of things to wait for Mina's response.

"No, they were. If you can do something, you should. Things could have been far worse. I don't know why they don't think that."

Haruhi looked back down as she thought it over. "I guess it's because they're so used to taking care of their guests."

"That still doesn't give them a reason to get upset like that though." Mina added as she sat up straighter. "Women are capable of more than they think. Either way, Tamaki-senpai will have to get over it eventually. It's not like we can change what happened."

Haruhi nodded as she pulled out her brush. "I still don't get why he was so upset though. Is it really just because I'm a girl?" She paused for a moment as she considered what had happened. "I guess it wouldn't be bad to know how to protect myself." She finished as she voiced her thoughts.

"Yeah, I guess that's true… Well, if you're just about done then I'm gonna go take my shower." Mina finished as she grabbed her stuff and went to finish getting ready herself. No doubt the conversation would continue over dinner with everyone nearby anyway.

Twenty minutes later, Mina came out wearing black shorts and a red tank top as she brushed out her hair. "It's still fairly early," she said as she glanced at the clock. "Want to go find something to do?"

"Sure. Hikaru and Kaoru stopped by while you were in the shower. Sounds like they were going to play some board game. We can go join in." Haruhi explained.

"Sounds good. I'm surprised you brought that dress with you. Was your bag hijacked?" Mina questioned as she dried off her hair some more with a towel.

Haruhi shrugged as she looked down. "Something like that. My dad must have repacked my bag."

Mina nodded as she put her towel away. "Alright, I'm ready to go when you are."

Haruhi paused as they started heading down the hall however. "You know, I bet we can get the lights on if we go to the basement."

"Why not, assuming there's even lightbulbs in this place." Mina couldn't imagine every single person wanting darkness in this place, so it was worth a shot. Surely there was some source of light in the place.

And it turned out their quick trip was worth it. After maneuvering through their version of a basement, which Mina felt looked like a horror movie prop room, they found the switch board and got the lights on.

* * *

Mina and Haruhi entered the room, planning on seeing how the game was going. What, they found was everyone staring down the hall as they shared looks and laughter. "What happened?" Mina asked as they walked in.

"You just missed Nekozawa-Senpai freak out over the lights coming on," Hikaru said as he looked at them.

"Oh, the main breaker was thrown. We just turned it back on in the basement," Haruhi explained as she followed Mina in.

"Haruhi, where did you get that dress?" the twins asked as it suddenly dawned on them what she was wearing, dropping the previous conversation. Mina wasn't surprised that everybody pretty much forgot what was just said.

"From my dad. He must have repacked my bags when I wasn't looking. He's always trying to get me to wear this frilly stuff." Haruhi explained.

"That's awesome! Way to go, dad!" the twins shouted with a thumbs-up.

"You look so cute, Haru-chan!" Honey added as well, smiling.

The tone quickly changed however as they looked further. "Anyway, what's up with the bare feet? We're not at some commoner's dwelling, you know." Hikaru commented as he pointed at Haruhi. It didn't take him long to notice that Mina was in the same lack of footware.

"We should do something about your hair, too." Kaoru added on. He then directed Haruhi to a chair in front of Hikaru before he grabbed Mina's shoulders and guided her to another chair.

Mina just blinked in confusion and glanced at Haruhi, unsure what just happened. Before she realized it, Kaoru had put slippers onto her feet and was standing up with a comb. "You shouldn't run around with wet hair. You'll get yourself sick," Kaoru commented as he gently combed out her hair that was now partly dried.

"No, I… I do it all the time. It's fine," Mina mumbled as sat frozen, trying to keep any reactions to a minimum in front of other people. She was surprised how nice it felt to be pampered even a little. Even if she was being dragged around and forced out of her comfort zone, as usual. She really needed to get used to this. If only she could keep a straight face like Haruhi. At least she was doing better than the shocked face of Tamaki. It didn't stop the warm feeling in her face however.

"How's this, princess?" both twins asked as they finished up.

Mina shook her head as she saw Tamaki with a nosebleed. The twins grabbed both girls and walked them away from him.

"Pervert," Hikaru said in reference to Tamaki. "Scary, isn't it? Let's run away."

"What kind of human…" Kaoru let his comment trail off as he ushered the girls away as well.

"You guys are ridiculous with all this," Mina said as she shrugged Kaoru off of her. "Doubt any of this is really necessary." Even if Tamaki deserved it after earlier today.

"Who's gonna get a nosebleed looking at a stubborn brat like her?" Tamaki shouted as he pointed at Haruhi. "I just bumped it a little!"

Anything Tamaki might have said after was quickly silenced as he took a quick hit to the back of his neck thanks to Honey. Mina stood wide-eyed as she watched Tamaki fall to the ground.

"What? It's not stopping, and I hit the back of his neck," Honey said in confusion, expecting a different reaction.

"That's a prime example of mistaken first aid. Karate style, no less," Kyoya added.

Mina really worried about them all sometimes. They were quite a strange group of guys. At least dinner would be soon. Perhaps she could just wait in the dining room rather than around all this craziness. Then again, it would probably just follow her there.

* * *

As expected, her solitude was short lived, though it seemed she had missed a clear shift in the conversation. One by one, each person had been trickling into the room for dinner. It was relatively quiet for once though. It was kind of eerie actually. A tension had settled back into the group, memories of earlier that day brought back to the front of everyone's minds. Even when people did talk in small groups, it was short and in whispers.

Once dinner had arrived, even food helped little to improve the mood. In fact, it was even worse. Mina was questioning this seating arrangement greatly. Having Tamaki and Haruhi sitting next to each other seemed dangerous. Surely Mina could have switched with him. She could be sitting next to Haruhi, Tamaki next to Hikaru instead, and no one would be at risk of death.

"Oh, this is uncomfortable." Hikaru said as he looked around the table.

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "Yeah, kind of awkward."

Trying to break the tension, Honey held up his crab suddenly. "Let's dig in, Haru-chan. These are the crabs we caught. I bet they're delicious."

It seemed like Haruhi took his words to heart, wasting no time in digging into the pile in front of her. "These crabs... taste in-crab-ible. Get it?"

Mina slowly worked through her dinner as she watched Haruhi tear through one crab leg after the other and tossing the shell towards Tamaki.

"Don't you think you've had enough?" Tamaki questioned, still in fear of getting hit by a crab. "Give it a rest."

Haruh paused long enough to break open another crab leg, the sound shattering the awkward silence that filled the air as everyone else watched. "Excuse me, I thought you weren't speaking to me."

"You... trying to be cute? Okay fine, I get it." Tamaki stood up as he set his napkin on the table, serious again. "It seems you refuse to admit that you were wrong. See if I care, then. I'm going to bed. Kyoya, would you show me to my room, please?"

"No problem," Kyoya said as he stood up as well. "Well, excuse me, everyone."

The room fell into silence again until they were both out of sight.

"Maybe he's right." Haruhi looked at her plate as she paused eating. "Maybe I do need to learn a way to protect myself."

Mina glanced over as she thought back to hearing Haruhi say the same thing earlier as well.

"So, that's it. He got to you, huh?" the twins said as they looked at Haruhi.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt for you to learn martial arts or something." Hikaru started.

"But it's not like we're going to force you to learn it." Kaoru finished.

Both brothers spoke up then. "Besides, that's not the real issue here."

"To be honest, we were all a little worried about how recklessly you acted." Hikaru explained.

"What do you mean? I didn't cause you guys any trouble or anything." Haruhi said, missing the point they tried to make.

Honey jumped in then. "That's not true, Haru-chan. I think you should apologize, 'kay? You made us all worried, especially Tama-chan. I think you need to apologize to him the most."

Mina pursed her lips as she listened to the conversation. She knew they were worried, but she hadn't considered that to be the reason why Tamaki was upset. It's not like he had said so.

"So you were worried about me?" Haruhi asked them. "But why?"

The twins just stared at her. "You're hopeless."

"You think?" Haruhi looked thoughtful for a second before she looked up. "Guys, I'm really sorry."

Mina blinked as she watched everyone suddenly stand and grab Haruhi in a hug.

"Apology accepted, you little mutt," Hikaru said as they all swarmed her.

"You're so cute. We forgive you." Kaoru continued.

Haruhi's expression quickly changed however, mid hug.

"Is something wrong?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked, noticing the change as they paused their hugging.

"I'm not feeling so good." Haruhi mumbled.

And in no time at all, the boys ushered Haruhi to a restroom in a blur, leaving Mina at the table alone.

"I feel like I'm the only one that really got to enjoy this meal," she spoke to herself as she looked down at her plate then to all the others that were abandoned.

* * *

It was hard to believe that the sun was shining earlier. With the storm currently outside, Mina was starting to wonder if it would ever end. It seemed like a lame way to end the evening. Then again, it couldn't be any worse than sitting in the middle of the living room in the dark. After the lights had gone out, it was clear that Mina wouldn't be reading before bed. Sitting in the bedroom she was given seemed kind of creepy with the storm anyway. She was starting to think she wouldn't even mind running into Nekozawa-senpai. At least it'd be company.

"Mina?"

Mina closed her eyes as a flashlight was suddenly in her face.

"Sorry. What are you doing sitting here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"

"I'm not tired, and there's nothing else to do." She shrugged as she smiled, glad her eyes had adjusted to the dark again. "The same could be asked of you, Kaoru."

Kaoru walked farther into the room and sat down beside Mina on the couch. "I was going to try to get a drink. At least I'm not the one sitting in the shadows."

Mina shifted so that she was facing Kaoru while one of her legs was curled up beneath her. "You can get your drink, you know. I don't want you dying of thirst on me."

"I'm not that thirsty," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, why else would you be sitting out here if you weren't actually hoping for company? If you're that concerned about my wellbeing though, why not walk with me?" Kaoru stood up and smiled as he offered his hand.

"I guess I can do that." Mina returned the smile and grabbed his hand so he could pull her up.

Once she stood on both her feet, Mina looked around briefly, trying to remember which way the kitchen was.

"Kitchen would be," Kaoru paused as he slowly pulled his hand back from hers. "That way." He pointed to the left hallway.

"Right." Mina quickly started walking that way, taking the lead as she clasped both her hands together. She surely should have realized that she hadn't let go of him yet. And better yet, why was she embarrassed. It didn't bother her when she did stuff like that before. She was just about to glance back before Kaoru fell in step beside her.

"So I was under the impression that you and Hikaru did everything together. Guess short trips around a house aren't included?" When she thought about it, Mina could probably count on one hand the number of times she's seen one do something without the other. And part of that count was during their fake fight.

"We're not conjoined. Of course we're not going to do _everything_ together." Kaoru tilted his head as he looked at her and put his hands in his pockets. "But you're right. Hikaru and I do do everything together. Always have, always will. That's what happens when you grow up with a twin."

Mina looked down as she watched where she stepped. "I guess that makes sense. It's just hard for me to imagine wanting to spend that much time with a sibling."

After a minute, she was wondering if Kaoru was even still listening. However, when she looked up she found a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared down at her. "Sorry, did I say something?"

"No, I was just thinking. You've got nothing to worry about." Kaoru let it drop as they reached the kitchen and walked inside. It wasn't until he found where the cups were that he spoke again. "You have an older brother, right? Is it just cause of an age difference that you don't get along?"

"Not exactly," Mina said as she shifted on her feet. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say or what would be a good enough explanation without going into the whole story. "My brother… didn't make the best choices in high school. He's pretty much been cut off from the whole family."

Unsure what else to say, Mina went to find a seat though she quickly settled on jumping up on the counter, unable to gracefully find a seat nearby in the dark.

"Care for a drink as well?" Kaoru asked, a smirk barely visible, which she suspected was due to her stumbling.

"Thanks." Mina smiled as she grabbed the cup and took a sip.

Kaoru took a seat beside her with his own drink, which seemed way too graceful when he didn't even spill a drop. "Sorry things are rough with your brother."

Mina just shrugged. "It's fine. I just ignore him and everything is fine. It's been working for years. I can pretend I'm a spoiled only child. It's great."

Suddenly the sound of the electric coming back on was heard and the lights flashed on, momentarily blinding the pair. Mina looked up as all the electronics beeped, coming back to life. "Guess I can't lurk in the shadows anymore."

Kaoru laughed as he jumped down from the counter and put his glass in the sink. "No, otherwise you'll look even more questionable."

"Wow, thanks. Didn't know I was questionable looking." Mina narrowed her eyes as she tried to keep a straight face but it soon ended in laughter.

"Not you, just your actions. There's nothing questionable about your looks." Kaoru grinned as he grabbed her glass, noticing the blush that was suddenly on her face. "Come on, let's head back before everyone thinks we're missing." He grabbed her hands then and pulled her down and quickly steadied her as he nearly caused her to fall into him.

Mina laughed as she righted herself. "True, if we go missing here, everyone'll probably think we died." With that, the pair made their way back to their respective rooms, trying not to disturb the place with laughs, even if their noise was nothing compared to the storm still going.

* * *

The hallway outside the bedrooms had quite a crowd when Mina and Kaoru made it there. Hikaru, Honey, Mori, and Kyoya were talking. It seemed that everyone had gathered to figure out the plans for tomorrow.

"What's up with ditching me, Kaoru?" Hikaru said as he spotted his brother walking down the hall with Mina.

"Sorry, I got a little sidetracked." Kaoru said simply as he took his place beside his brother, ignoring the questioning look from his twin.

"So why's everyone in the hallway?" Mina asked as she eyed everyone.

"We're gonna go check on Haru-chan and Tama-chan!" Honey shouted.

Mina tilted her head in thought. She had kind of forgotten about them at this point. "Oh, are they still fighting?"

"It sounded like they were going to make up. Isn't that right, Kyo-chan?" Honey asked as he looked towards Kyoya.

Kyoya just nodded and adjusted his glasses. "I expected that things would improve based on how I last saw them."

"Alright…" Mina trailed off as she looked around. "Well, let's go check on them then."

A few minutes later, everyone was in front of the door, debating on going in or not. Mina partly wanted to make sure they were both still alive.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Hikaru started as he glanced at the door.

"To leave the two of them alone?" Koaru said, voicing his concern.

Kyoya dismissed their concern. "She's with our prince, Tamaki. What could possibly go wrong?"

Making up their minds to go in anyway, Hikaru and Kaoru knocked on the door as they called out "Hey, boss? We're coming in."

The second the door was open, everyone paused in shock as they stared at Tamaki who was placing a blindfold over Haruhi's eyes as she sat on the floor.

"With the blindfold on, you can't see anything, and the earplugs help muffle any sound." Tamaki explained, oblivious to the group now standing behind him.

"Wow! Yeah, you're right." Haruhi agreed.

Hikaru was the first to call Tamaki out. "You nasty pervert."

"What kind of foreplay is that?" Kaoru asked.

At the sound of their voices, Tamaki turned around in shock, realizing the predicament he appeared to be in. "It's not like that! It's not what you think!"

"Guess I was wrong to doubt that you were a pervert," Mina said as she walked passed Tamaki to Haruhi and took the blindfold from her. "Let's go before Tamaki gets anymore ideas."

Haruhi blinked up at Mina for a moment as she processed what everyone was saying before she looked over at Tamaki. "You're right, Mina. Let's go."

"Night guys," both girls said as they made their way out of the room. They could deal with the rest tomorrow.

* * *

Their mini vacation for the weekend was over. Only with the host club could a trip to the beach turn out like this. Considering that they were all getting ready to head back home now, Mina was hoping that nothing else would be going on. She couldn't take anymore craziness. What happened to quiet weekends?

Mina looked up from her spot against the car as she waited for the last few people to come out.

"You better watch your back, Haruhi." Hikaru commented as Tamaki walked out behind Haruhi.

"I never would've pegged the boss as an S&M pervert," Kaoru said.

Tamaki yelled back "I told you, it wasn't like that at all!"

Mina couldn't help but laugh under her breath slightly. She had gotten an explanation from Haruhi last night about being afraid of the storm, but it still looked shady no matter what for Tamaki.

"I see. Well now I know what S&M is," Haruhi said as she put her stuff in the car. "I can't believe I almost let you get away with it."

"I wasn't doing anything freaky. I was trying to help you." Tamaki shot back, trying to defend himself though it was wasted.

Everyone moved to take their seat as Tamaki continued his rant.

"Let's go." Kyoya said, not bothering to wait for Tamaki to get in the car.

Mina laughed as she turned in her seat to watch Tamaki run after them.

"Hey! Don't leave without me! Wait, you guys!" Tamaki yelled, waving after the car.

It's a shame they couldn't really make Tamaki walk the whole way back, but Mina figured he'd survive for a few more minutes of torment.


	8. Chapter 8

_Welcome to another chapter! This one doesn't follow any episodes or chapters, but it does give you more information on Mina. There's a lot going on and it's quite a change from previous chapters, so I hope you enjoy it! I only have one more chapter actually put together, so the rest will be slower to come but I'll try to get those out as quickly as possible._

 _Thank you so much to those that have reviewed, favorited, and followed so far. It means the world and keeps me going. Now on we go!_

 _ _ _Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran High School Host Club belongs to me. My only original creation is Mina, her family, and the personal storyline related to her.___

* * *

It was hard to believe that it had already been more than a month since Mina met the host club for the first time. The host club had truly become a normal part of her routine, even considering the last few trips she had gone on with them. Mina stared out the window of her classroom, hardly listening to the lecture as she let her mind wander. All the fun, though admittedly crazy, antics that she's been involved in made her almost forget all the issues that liked to pop up on occasion. Issues like her brother.

Her parents had asked her to come home after school yesterday rather than stay for activities. It wasn't the first time it had happened, though the last few times that had happened, it was for her parents to inform her of life changing events, such as advances in their finances, or business plans that included pulling the family from the country for a while. Their evening included no updates on their own events though, but more focused on her brother Ryota.

She could recall a few years ago when there was a fifty-fifty chance of topics revolving around him or finances anytime she spoke to her parents, though the topics were vague at best normally. But they always wanted to seem like they were keeping her informed. That slowly started to change however when Ryota was no longer allowed in the house. That was three years ago and she hadn't heard from him since then outside of an overheard phone call he would make to one of their parents.

Mina assumed that Ryota knew they were back in the area. She wasn't sure what her parents wanted to talk about, but it was probably him if the last couple weeks were anything to go off of.

* * *

"Where'd you disappear to yesterday?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked as she sat down across the table from them for lunch.

"If you start skipping out on the club," Hikaru began.

"You'll get dragged there instead," Kaoru finished.

Mina tilted her head as she looked at them. Was it really the end of the world now if she missed out on one day at their club? It's not like she was there all the time anyway. "Sorry, went home for once," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Not like I'm really missing much. I'm not _actually_ swooning over you all. Kyoya might have started forcing me to act like a guest but that doesn't mean I am one."

The brothers shared a look as they smirked before leaning forward. "Are you sure you aren't swooning over us?"

"Could have fooled me while you were sitting with us last week," Kaoru continued as he watched Mina start to squirm.

"You could barely take your eyes off us, acting just like the other girls."

Mina averted her eyes trying to ignore them as she focused on her tray. "If you recall, I was ordered to act like a guest. And I was. _Acting,_ " she finished with emphasis on the last word.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mina, but we know the truth," they teased as they leaned back and grinned at her.

"You guys are delusional. I was planning on sticking around today but maybe I will skip. Then again… Guess I could always sit with better hosts. Then I won't have to put up with your creepy brotherly love."

Hikaru turned his attention to Kaoru and slung an arm over his shoulder, fake whispering. "I think we made her jealous, Kaoru."

"Now I feel bad. We'll have to make it up to her," Kaoru whispered to his brother.

They both then turned their attention back to Mina, looking serious as Kaoru grabbed her free hand from across the table. "We'll be sure to fix everything before the day is over, we promise."

Soon enough, lunch turned to more common topics and before she knew it, class was calling once again causing them all to get up from the table.

"See you at club," Hikaru said as he stood up but paused when Kaoru didn't move beside him right away.

"Go on ahead, Hikaru. I'll be there in a minute," Kaoru said as he gestured to the door and standing up as well. "I just gotta do something before I head back to class."

Hikaru spared a glance at his brother, hesitating for a moment before he shrugged and walked off. It seemed that Mina didn't notice his look of annoyance, but Kaoru did.

Kaoru waited a moment as he watched Hikaru walk away before he looked back at Mina. "I didn't want to ask with Hikaru still around in case you didn't want to say, but is everything alright? I mean with your family. I figured you wouldn't miss out on the host club for nothing even if we do drive you crazy."

Mina stared at him for a second, slightly startled by the question before she smiled at him and turned to start walking down the hall with him. "Everything's fine. My parents do that sometimes; call me home to talk. I think they just like to be dramatic even when it's boring conversations. And you could have asked during lunch. Just cause I don't talk about it doesn't mean I'm keeping it a secret either."

Mina looked at him, smile still in place as she waited for a reply, however it seemed Kaoru's only response was to look at her thoughtfully. She eventually looked back down the hall, preferring to make sure she didn't run into anyone rather than acknowledge the strange attention she was currently getting. Despite her words, she definitely just completely avoided the actual question and she just hoped he didn't notice.

"Thanks for the concern, Kaoru, but this is my class so I'll talk to you later," Mina rushed through her words a bit too quickly but ignored it as she turned to head into her room. Kaoru stopped her as he grabbed her hand, causing her to look back at him.

She relaxed at the genuine smile on his face. "I only asked cause you _can_ talk to me if you ever need to. See you later, Mina." Kaoru let go and gave her a quick wave to go with his smile before he headed back to his own classroom.

It seemed there were a few partial truths in the last few minutes. While she didn't mind talking to him generally, her family was certainly complicated enough to explain. Then there was that other small truth she was ignoring. What she said was true at lunch, she certainly wasn't swooning over the Hitachiin brothers act, but she might have to admit she very well could have been swooning just the same. Then again, maybe it was just cause she wasn't used to that kind of attention. Pushing the thought out of her head, she was more than willing to focus on her work instead for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Mina walked into another normal day at the host club. At least, that's what she referred to it as when the room wasn't transformed and no one was in costume. Normal. Rather than sitting and listening or chatting like she normally did, Mina decided to help Haruhi set up the tables instead. Getting tea and coffee ready seemed a better option than listening to Tamaki go on about his latest fantasy. She was learning that the better option was to just ignore him. Sometimes she really regretting figuring out what was in his head.

"Hey, Mina, I was wondering something."

Mina looked up at Haruhi as she set down another cup. "What?"

"Did something happen at lunch? I saw Kaoru come in after Hikaru and Hikaru didn't seem to be in a very good mood."

This bit of information caught Mina by surprise as she focused all of her attention on Haruhi. "Not that I know of. Kaoru and I talked for a few extra minutes, but Hikaru seemed fine when we left at lunch. I don't know what could have changed between then. I really don't know, sorry I can't…" Mina paused as the doors to the music room opened to reveal just who they were talking about.

She could sense just what Haruhi was talking about. They did seem a bit tense, but not nearly as bad as their fake fight. She would have dismissed it until she noticed the quick look she received when Hikaru looked at her. Just as quickly as it came though, it was gone and Hikaru moved over to Tamaki, striking up a conversation as Kaoru joined in beside him.

"Maybe I can take a guess," Mina mumbled as she went back to setting the rest of the tables, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself as she moved away from Haruhi. Maybe she was imagining it. She saw no point in stirring up possible trouble right before their club started for the evening. The last thing she needed was Kyoya on her back for causing problems. It looked like she needed to make sure she didn't sit with the twins today.

It wasn't until Mina made her way back to where all the boys were sitting around that Mina realized there may be problems no matter what she decided to do. Perhaps luck was not on her side though.

"It's not like she even needs to be here anymore. If she didn't slip up about Haruhi yet, then I doubt she will, and she's not a guest nor do we need her help before club starts so why exactly is she still around?"

"Hikaru, what the hell is your problem today?" Haruhi snapped as she looked at Hikaru.

Mina could take a pretty good guess that he was talking about her.

"That is no way to talk about a lady! Mina is our guest and our friend, what kind of host are you?" Tamaki declared as he dramatically pulled Mina over to him. "Pay him no mind, you are always welcome here. I wouldn't dare take your girlish presence away from Haruhi!"

"Thanks." Mina dragged out the word as she pried herself away from Tamaki, "but I think I'm just gonna leave. You don't need any problems right now."

"While that is true since the guests will be here soon," Kyoya cut in, "I can't say there's ever been a problem with you being around before, otherwise, I wouldn't have allowed it for so long." He paused as he looked between Hikaru and Kaoru. "Leaving may be best for today though. And I believe you have drama club tomorrow. Perhaps the break will do everyone good."

Mina bit her lip as she considered Kyoya's words. "Right, I'll see you guys later." Her words were quieter than normal as she tried to will the sudden confrontation away.

Tamaki stopped her before she moved as he placed his hands on her shoulders, seeming to take a moment from his usual antics to act sincere. "Return soon, Mina. Despite Hikaru's tactless words, you are always welcome here."

"Thank you, Tamaki." She gave him a genuine smile, glad that the rest of the club at least wasn't mad at her. It really was a comfort. "And don't worry, no one gets rid of me that easily. What else would I do with all my afternoons?" She couldn't imagine giving up the host club and Hikaru's bad mood wouldn't keep her away forever.

* * *

The early return home went unnoticed by most of the people in the house, as the help continued working throughout the rooms, only pausing to greet Mina before going back to their previous focus. It seemed her father was out of town inspecting one of the new resort locations so he would be home late. However, her mother had been at the office and had come home somewhat earlier than normal. It was why Mina was surprised to hear her name called from one of the rooms she had passed.

"Welcome home," Shizuyo greeted her daughter with a warm smile, setting aside the papers she had been looking at while in her study. "I thought you wouldn't be home for another hour or so." She quickly gave her daughter a hug as they met halfway.

Mina just shrugged. "Normally. I thought I would relax a bit today, Ka-san."

"Good then, I hardly get to see you anymore." She ushered her daughter onto the couch and sat down beside her. "How has Ouran Academy been going? Between all these activities, I hope your studies are going well."

Mina laughed lightly, knowing her mom wasn't truly concerned about if she was doing her work. "Of course. I don't get back that late. Plenty of time to get homework done. And overall, it's been really nice. Crazy, but nice"

"I'm sure that's all true. You do join us for dinner, after all, except when you disappear on the weekends now. With that… host club. I can't say I'm too sure about that club yet, even if it's at the school. Strange boys taking my baby away from me and doing who knows what."

"You know exactly what," Mina rolled her eyes and her mother's dramatics. "I always call when I'm gone. It's not like trips to the beach or water parks are dangerous." Granted, there were the alligators and the unwelcomed guests at the beach, but her mom didn't really need to know that. She came out unharmed. "Plus, it's not just guys. There are other girls with me."

Shizuyo nodded her head, giving Mina a knowing look. "Yet it's the boys you chose to spend time with. There's no denying that."

And Mina didn't try, guilty just by the blush on her face. She had a feeling her mother was hinting at more too.

"Just be sure to let me know when one starts to catch your attention more than the others," she finished with a wink towards her daughter, a twinkle in her eye to see Mina flustered at the topic. Her face softened then. "At least I don't have to worry about you."

"Of course not, I learned a long time ago how to act." Mina paused as she tried to figure out how to bring up something else that's been on her mind. "Have you talked to Ryota? You and Tou-san have been talking about him a lot recently. I'm assuming things aren't better…" she trailed off, letting her mother either correct her or agree.

"No, he is still in the same predicament. He called earlier today, actually, with another excuse as to why he needed money. It's never simply to say hello." She shook her head, a disappointed look on her face that was familiar to Mina. "Why do you ask? Has he spoken to you?"

"No, I haven't seen him and I doubt he has my phone number to even call. I was just wondering. I know you two told me to let you know if I did hear or see from him, especially if he showed up at the house, but don't worry. That hasn't happened." Mina paused again with more questions on her mind. Before she asked more though, she decided to let it go. Her parents never told her much when it came to her brother and she doubted it would start now just because she asked. Her parents always kept her sheltered from whatever trouble her brother got himself into. It was easier to just leave it as it's always been.

"I'm going to go start my homework. I'll see you at dinner, Ka-san." Mina stood up then, kissed her mother's cheek and went up to her room. It had really been a strange day for her. Between the issues at the host club and issues lurking with her brother, she could only hope that tomorrow would be better.

* * *

Wednesday had gone by quickly with Mina making sure to stay clear of the Hitachiin brothers. She had lucked out really, easily finding some of her friends from drama club. She was sure the girls had caught a few of her reluctant glances towards the twins, but no one made a comment. Instead, they all focused on catching Mina up about the Cultural Festival that they would all start preparing for soon. It would be coming up in a few weeks and the drama club and choir would be giving more focus on that. It seemed it was a blessing in disguise. Mina could probably justify missing out on the host club in order to prepare for that if she truly needed to.

"If you're up for it, you can help with preparations, Mina," Suzume commented as she leaned closer to her. "Assuming the host club can part with you for a bit." She gave a sly smile as she looked at her other friend, Natsuko. "You seem to have gotten pretty attached to them. I don't think either of us have seen the twins actually have lunch with anyone outside of the host club."

Mina huffed and took a bite of her food, not about to explain all the issues at hand. "I doubt that. We may have gotten along fine, but that doesn't mean I'm attached. And I'll take you up on that offer. Helping get ready for the festival sounds like fun. Is that what we're talking about after school today? I knew there was some sort of announcement coming up. The choir is starting to get ready for it too."

It was only when she focused back on the girls and not on her lunch that she realized they were all staring at her, or more specifically, behind her. She shot them a quizzical look before pivoting in her seat and coming face to face with a chest. As she shifted her eyes up, she couldn't help but notice the lack of a twin. No doubt Hikaru was treating her like the plague now.

"Um, hi, did you need something?" Mina questioned, though she supposed it had come out a bit harsher than she had expected based on how Kaoru winced at the words. While she had been upset that he hadn't said anything yesterday, she also wasn't dwelling on it either. Perhaps it was a matter of out of sight, out of mind. She tilted her head as she waited for an answer. Even on a normal week, the twins had never come up to her while she was sitting with her other friends, whether it was briefly during lunch or during breaks, so she wasn't sure why Kaoru was here now.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" he shifted his gaze to the other girls and flashed them a well-practiced smile of a host. "I hope you girls don't mind, I promise it won't be too long."

"Go ahead!" All the girls chimed in, ignoring the glare Mina shot at them for answering for her. Mina was sure, if they could have, they all would have happily shoved her from her seat. And if she were to judge from the looks on their faces, they were all dying to find out what the whole thing was about.

After some quick parting words, Mina followed Kaoru just outside of the cafeteria and sighed as she looked at him while he shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall.

"Thanks, I hope you realize they're going to ask me a million questions, theorizing every possible reason we're out here."

Kaoru just grinned at her words. "You should feel honored. Not many girls get the privilege of speaking to members of the host club one on one." His smile slowly dropped though as he became more serious. "I wanted to apologize about Hikaru. I should have spoken up before you left, though it wouldn't have helped. Hikaru just isn't used to sharing my attention."

All Mina could do was nod as she listened to his words. "Well… Maybe he'll cool off if he has a break from me for a while. I certainly didn't mean to get between you guys, though I'm still not sure what the real problem is." She trailed off as she looked to the side, studying the wall as she thought back to yesterday. "I can always take a break from sitting with you guys at lunch, plus I was thinking about helping out with preparations for the cultural festival. Guess it's kind of a big deal to the drama club and choir."

Kaoru looked at her alarmed. "What? You're not coming back to the host club or sitting with us at lunch? You don't have to run off. Hikaru has his moments but they're just words. You don't have to pay attention to what he said."

Mina nodded as she considered his words before she spoke again, quietly confessing her thoughts. She had to admit she didn't know what she wanted to do. "I'm just talking about a short break. I mean, I was thinking about skipping the host club for the month, but I guess I can drop in a bit still." A moment of silence lingered before she spoke again. "It caught me off guard yesterday, but if he says something again, I can't promise that I won't hit him." Or realistically, run off again.

"You're not the only one that would hit him, so don't worry," Kaoru said relieved before he let out a laugh. "You should have heard Tamaki start wailing after you left, plus Haruhi. Everyone likes having you around. Hikaru will figure out how to deal with it and accept it eventually."

Mina glanced back into the room as she spotted Suzume and Natsuko still chatting while occasionally peering over where she could still be slightly seen from the doorway. She was wondering if it was best to deal with it now or just bail on the rest of lunch and postpone the girls' conversation for later. She sighed before leaning against the wall beside Kaoru and clasped her hands in front of her. "I'll come back eventually, but I think I'm still gonna take off the rest of the week. I somehow doubt things will improve by tomorrow."

An extra day with the girls in drama wouldn't be so bad, though the more she thought about it, she might just be setting herself up for misery. She had always hung around girls more than boys at her old school, but the girls here were way too obsessed with the host club, even when they didn't go very often. No doubt the other girls would start taking the opportunity to drill her about them. Mina had to wonder just what she was thinking. As she finished that thought, she pushed herself off the wall slightly as she turned to face Kaoru and finally relaxed as she gave him a genuine smile. "Let me know if it's ever safe to sit with you guys again. I doubt I can handle all the gossip and chatter from those girls every day. I definitely prefer sitting with the both of you, teasing and all."

"Oh, is that so?" Kaoru smirked as he suddenly stepped forward, leaning closer to Mina. "We knew you couldn't deny it forever. Don't let the boss hear you say that plus you'd never escape the teasing from any of us."

"Oh, please," Mina said with a roll of her eyes and pushed Kaoru back, though it helped very little. "You seem to have gotten my words confused with what you believe is falling for you guys."

"Whatever you say, Mina," Kaoru finished before he finally moved away from her. "And good luck talking to your friends. I look forward to hearing about their theories."

Mina groaned as she took a step towards the door, taking a quick glance inside only to see them still waiting for her return. "Don't remind me. Thanks for the sympathy though. I'll be sure to send them after you. I guess I'll see you later then. Better get the torment over with. You know this is going to be all your fault."

Kaoru only laughed at her misery as she tried to blame him. "Nonsense, you're the one that agreed to talk to me. Later!" With a quick wave, he headed down the hall, leaving Mina on her own.

It took no time at all to spot Suzume making quick hand motions to summon her back to the table and that's exactly where Mina went, though that didn't stop her from walking extremely slow. She had to imagine that walking to her death on an executioner's block probably felt similar to this.

"So what was that about," Natsuko asked suggestively, not even waiting for her to get back into her seat.

"Spill! The twins never talk to other people, let alone just one of them!" Suzume jumped in, looking just as eager at Natsuko. "Do we have a secret _love_ affair going on? Oh, just imagine." The girl giggled as she squirmed in her seat.

"No," Mina said simply as she shook her head, as she had already prepared for ridiculous accusations on her walk back. She debated on if she should just dismiss all their question and ignore it or at least give them some sort of answer. She supposed it couldn't hurt to talk to someone about it. She certainly wasn't gonna talk it out at home or with someone else in the host club anytime soon. "He was just talking to me about something from yesterday. Apparently, I'm secretly a master at annoying people and didn't even know it."

Natsuko tilted her head, silently asking for more information.

Mina looked between the girls before she sighed and propped her head up on her hand as her elbow rested on the table. "I don't know… I don't know what happened but I must have contracted the plague or something cause Hikaru now wants nothing to do with me. Kaoru was just apologizing for him. Not sure if I'll ever have a clear answer, but that's also why I decided to help with the festival."

It seemed those words caught Natsuko by surprise as she quickly shifted her mood. "To get away from Hikaru? That seems a silly reason to avoid the host club. I thought you enjoyed going to it. I mean, you could have fooled me with how you talk about them while you're with us."

"Yeah," Suzume nodded in agreement. "Granted that you're not as bad as some of their other guests since it's easy to talk to you about a lot of stuff, but you always seem happy anytime the conversation turned to them."

Mina shook her head at their words. "Well it would beat having him glaring at me from across the room. Simply trying to avoid him at lunch is enough for me. And I don't plan on avoiding them all forever. This week at least, but probably not the whole month."

"Alright," both girls conceded. And that was when the topic dropped, switching back to other gossip they had picked up on before they parted for class again.

* * *

Before anyone knew it, the days were already moving by with a new routine setting in. Mina had not once set foot into Music Room 3 in almost a week. And despite rolling out plans that didn't involve them, she still eventually found her way back there.

Mina had given her word, saying she would return, and that she did. No one would say her visits were like before though. The most obvious change was how she avoided the twins, and they avoided her during the club. They did have guests to entertain, after all. And she was not their guest. She also started to arrive at the same time as the others, no longer coming early while they were setting up.

Like before, she did tend to gravitate towards Honey and Mori during those times. Laughing and smiling at all their exchanges and conversations came easily, especially with a cake in hand. This was something Honey had caught onto and it seemed now that he always had a piece of her favorite chocolate cake sitting ready for her arrival.

Spending time with them also meant she had to deal with Honey's occasional attempts at helping resolve the issue between her and Hikaru. She appreciated the advice when it was given. Despite looking young, she was always reminded at times like these that he was older than her. She sometimes forgot that the twins' lives didn't always involve others so closely. It's why she tried not to let it bother her too much when she tried to give them space. She just hoped it would work itself out and it would turn out to be not as big of a problem as she felt it was. But only time would tell.

Something a little less out of the ordinary however was her occasional sessions with Kyoya now. It was a calmer atmosphere and gave her time to think yet still enjoy being with them. She could be more of the observer, though she had to wonder how much Kyoya was observing of her in those moments too. Thinking back, she realized she didn't mind. He could write down all he wanted and it wouldn't bother her anymore, at least for the most part.

It was during her second visit back. She had been asking him about the hosts' involvement with the cultural festival, mostly staring off as he focused on his notebook. "The host club doesn't participate in the cultural festival. Participation is optional, focusing more on the arts as I'm sure you've realized. Based on our clientele, it would be more beneficial for us financially to continue as we normally do. You know how Tamaki gets. When given the opportunity, he'll make it as big as possible."

Mina tilted her head as she thought over his words. "Really? I can't imagine Tamaki actually giving up on participating."

"Well, it wouldn't be for lack of trying," was the only comment he gave back. She supposed she understood though. She was starting to see how the club really worked. If Kyoya didn't support it, the others didn't either.

"I know you will be participating however, given that you are in both the choir and the drama club. I suspect that is why you are showing up less often. Your plan to avoid them will only work for another month however. I am curious to see what you'll do then."

She didn't know why she hadn't been expecting him to call her out for it, but she didn't know what to say so she said nothing instead.

"Despite what you may think, everyone in this club will welcome you back. Haruhi has already voiced how she prefers having you around before we open for the guests. And I would hope you've already realized that Honey and Kaoru both enjoy your company."

Mina rolled her eyes, though she had to wonder about his tone at the end. "I know I'm welcome. Hell, even you don't mind me being here and I figured you'd be the one to kick me out if it was anyone, no offense." She ended as she gave him a side look.

"None taken, after all, I did consider having you leave almost a month ago after it became clear that you would keep Haruhi's secret." Kyoya smiled then as he closed his notebook and got up. "Thankfully you decided to start helping out on your own without being asked. After all, what good is a guest that doesn't help us out as well? But the others enjoy having you around, not just because you are helping."

And that was the thought she left to think over as he left to speak with real guests. She was too busy trying to decide if she should be happy or offended to actually worry about whether a certain twin on the other side of the room was glaring at her or not.

His distractions actually gave her things to think over, things to focus on, and not just the miniature distractions from the others.


	9. Chapter 9

_Surprise! Wow am I sooo sorry... There is truly no excuse as to why I never got another chapter of this posted. Really. And after a freaking year, here it is! And it's not even that great of a chapter, so again, I apologize. My whims are hard to follow and hard to predict when they will come and go. Hopefully I'll have another chapter for those that have even a vague clue of what this story even is. And if you don't remember, feel free to reread it. Hopefully it's as enjoyable as the first time around._

 _Anyway, here's a new chapter._

 _And the disclaimer: I own nothing related to Ouran High School Host Club. Just the things from my imagination like Mina._

* * *

The Cultural Festival, it was a time that seemed to be celebrated by everyone in Ouran Academy regardless of whether they were participating or not. Classes were cancelled for the afternoon, and that left several extra hours for fun and games, and that was precisely what the host club was doing as they entertained guests and goofed off.

And with the festival so close at hand, that surprisingly left Mina with some time on her hands. Things were ready, and with nothing to do but show up, she could enjoy the next hour or so doing whatever she pleased. And that is what led her back to Music Room #3.

Despite dropping in from time to time, Mina had to admit things had changed in the past month. While things had improved with Hikaru, meaning that he no longer glared at her and could tolerate her presence yet again, Kaoru seemed to be more distant. Nothing made much sense in her mind, but she let it go. If there was a problem, he would tell her eventually. And if not, she would have plenty of time to figure it out starting next week when she went back to her normal schedule.

Mina tried not to worry about it, but one thought lingered in her mind. Hikaru had said something to her a while ago, shortly after his first outburst at the host club.

 _"He's only giving you attention because you're something new!"_ She could still remember his words clearly, and she had thought it was foolish at the time, but maybe he was right. It would explain why Kaoru was more distant. The novelty had worn off. Like any new toy, they got lots of attention at first, but a kid will always go back to their old favorites.

It wasn't the fact that she felt he had cast her aside that bothered her the most though, it was how that made her feel that was most alarming. It was frustrating. She knew it; she had already begun to realize what she was feeling, and despite the fight with Hikaru, Kaoru had still come up and spoken to her afterwards. Everything seemed fine. More than fine really. But only for a week.

Then everything changed.

Hikaru was mad, and maybe that was the real problem. Kaoru lived with him, so how could she expect him to put up with all his shouting and complaining every time they hung out for a few extra minutes. She couldn't. They were twins and they would always be together. So she let it go. It seemed like a cruel act, just going through the socially acceptable level of banter between acquaintances really.

If it was an act though, she felt out of place despite all her acting skills. She wasn't a character and she didn't understand the motive behind why Kaoru suddenly was only speaking to her when with his twin. Every once in a while, a conversation would shift and it felt like just her and Kaoru again, but it was never for long. And it was a crushing feeling as it continued for three more weeks.

Even when she was sitting with Honey and Mori, or Kyoya, she always caught herself glancing towards the twins. But she never sat with them. Only spoke in passing and occasionally at lunch.

Now that the Cultural Festival was here, she hadn't excepting things to be any different today. Mina had found herself there early, before any of the guests arrived. It was always amusing to see them in costumes, getting into character of some historically portrayed version of themselves.

She eyed their costumes as she sat on the couch, watching as they all finished getting ready. Knights in shining armor, aside from the twins who reminded her more of musketeers, but overall it seemed very fitting. It portrayed just how they thought of themselves.

"So where'd you ship Haruhi off to? Shouldn't she be here getting ready too?"

"She's getting some more commoner's coffee," the twins stated as they straightened out each other's outfits.

Mina rolled her eyes at their words. "Really? You guys can't make it a day without that coffee now?"

No response was made as the sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention. Realizing the conversation was dropped, she pursed her lips as she casually stepped over to the side of the room.

The boys quickly greeted them as they posed around the couch. "Welcome, ladies."

It didn't take long for everyone to notice the two girls in the doorway were not from Ouran.

"Well, well, well," Tamaki smiled as he approached them. "I see you ladies are from another school. I certainly hope we haven't startled you. We love first-time guests. I'm glad you've come, princesses. My darlings, even if the world were to be destroyed, I'd put my life on the line as your faithful knight and servant. I will protect you." Tamaki finished his words as he took a spot, kneeling just like a knight in front of the two brunettes.

"Oh my, do you really think you'll be able to protect us?" the taller girl on the left spoke as she looked off to the side momentarily. "That's awfully arrogant of you, wouldn't you agree? You think that's what a woman wants to hear? Well, you're wrong."

Mina couldn't help but narrow her eyes as she watched the girls, already disliking them. Normally hearing someone say words like that would amuse her, but their attitude was bothering her. This wasn't the same as when Haruhi would accidentally shoot Tamaki down with her words. These girls just wanted to be mean. Mina took a quick look at all the guys and realized they weren't too concerned about their words. Apparently, it was only her.

The other girl didn't skip a beat as she continued speaking. "Come on. Give him a break, sister Suzuran. Men are just lowly life forms who don't care about anything other than perpetuating their testosterone latent image. By protecting us he's actually attempting to disguise the fact that he is weak and unable of even protecting himself."

The long haired girl, Mina now knew to be Suzuran continued. "You're such a clever girl, Hinagiku."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Tamaki asked as he rested his sword on his shoulder. "Fine then. What do women like you want to hear?"

Another voice captured everyone's attention as it carried in from the hallway. "Maybe, something like 'I would never leave my lover alone.'" Mina inched further towards the center despite her desire to remain unseen. Just outside of the door stood another girl in the same red uniform the others wore, while she held Haruhi pressed against her side. "If we fight, it'll be together. If we fail, we fail together. Even if I were to die, I promise you that I will never leave your side, my love."

What was up with these girls? Mina was starting to think they might be even more dramatic than the boys.

Hingiku greeted her peer as she looked through the doorway as well. "Benibara, we thought you'd never show."

"What are we going to do with you?" Suzuran continued. "So tell us where you found this lovely young lady."

The newest arrival, Benibara, went on dramatically. "I just met her outside of the school. She may be dressed as a boy, but I knew the truth. She has such pretty, maidenly eyes."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Haruhi said uneasily as she eyed the girls.

"Wow, her skin is incredibly soft," Hinagiku commented as all the girls suddenly surrounded Haruhi, caressing her arms and legs.

"Isn't it, though?" Suzuran agreed. "I think this one's going to be a little diamond in the rough."

Tamaki wasted no time in storming up to the girls. "Don't go touching my Haruhi without asking my permission."

And just as quickly, Benibara punched him in the face. "Leave her alone."

Mina just continued to watch the scene unfold wide-eyed. These personalities just seemed like a bad combination and she was waiting for it to explode.

"She punched me. She's so violent," Tamaki cried, scooting back to stand near the other hosts.

"Get ahold of yourself," Honey shouted, hoping Tamaki would stop whining, no doubt so he could continue dealing with the girls.

"Guess the rumors we heard are true. You guys are just a bunch of weak little punks with no sense between you." Benibara shot them down quickly.

Unfazed by their words, Kyoya was the first to respond. "Those uniforms. I assume you ladies are from Lobelia girls' academy."

"That's correct," Benibara said dramatically before all three girls uncovered costumes beneath their uniforms.

"Lobelia!"

One by one each of the girls sang the word, posing as they did so for dramatic effect, as a spotlight shone down on each of them.

And after the dramatic entrance, Mina was done listening to them. She took a moment to glance to her side and mumbled under her breath. "Are they for real? As if this room needed anymore nonsense in it." She looked back up when she realized she missed all their introductions but soon realized they might never stop talking. It was only after she realized the twins were laughing hysterically that she started paying attention again, trying to catch on to what she had missed while she zoned out. It certainly didn't seem like anything important.

It was only after she finished that thought that Renge popped up, set on clearing everything up and giving her own background to the so-called Zuka club from St. Lobelia.

"You shouldn't underestimate the Zuka club. I may not know much about instant coffee, but I'm fascinated with girls' schools. St. Lobelia academy," Renge started. Mina soon drowned out her words as someone else caught her attention.

Koaru turned towards Mina as she leaned against the side of the couch. "So why didn't you go there? You're into all that acting and music stuff."

Mina scoffed at his words as she eyed him like he was crazy. "Have you looked at those girls? I'd kill myself if I had to put up with that everyday. You guys are bad enough, but at least you all seem relatively sane by comparison."

The twins laughed as they rested against each of her shoulders. "Not a fan then?" Hikaru asked as they all glanced at the girls. They all seemed to be going on about the school ever since Renge started her monologue a minute ago.

They weren't the only ones to lose interest. Soon enough, the entire host club was moving on to change back into their uniforms and find more interesting things to do. And while all this happened, the girls continued on, oblivious to it all.

As they finally finished speaking, looking for a reply from the host club, they were only met by the sight of distracted teens ignoring them.

"Whatever. We're so over it," Kaoru said as he looked through the bag of coffee Haruhi had brought back with her.

"Why don't you gals just scram?" Hikaru spoke, not bothering to look up from the video game he was now playing.

Hinagiku scoffed at their words. "I find it hard to believe that you silly boys have nothing to say about our sublime female love."

"What the hell is she talking about?" Hikaru asked, though it was clear he didn't actually care.

Kaoru, following his brother's cue of not listening to them, was the next to speak as he continued to examine the new coffee, giving far more attention to a bag than necessary. "Hey, I haven't seen this one before. I guess it's a new one."

Mina expected them to act insulted, but Suzuran's next words proved that they clearly thought too highly of themselves to be affected by their words. "You should feel sorry for them, Hinagiku. Their patented host skills don't work on us. Now they're all flustered and they don't know what to do with themselves."

"True," Benibara agreed. "I must say I'm glad we decided to perform here. It was fun to sneak a peek at the notorious Ouran host club."

"Hey guys, are we really notorious?" Honey asked.

"Yeah," Mori confirmed.

"And to think they're dragging this sweet young girl down with them," Benibara said as she turned her attention back on Haruhi who still hadn't moved from her spot by the door. "The host club's president may be a pretty little halfer, but he shouldn't be using his looks to create a fictitious romance. Attempting to fool the heart of a pure young maiden is demeaning. Your so-called club activities are nothing more than debasing macho fantasies. I promise you, we will bring you guys down. The Ouran host club will be abolished."

Mina just stared in confusion as the girls continued on. How could a group of people seriously rattle on for such a long time, unperturbed by the lack of response from everyone else in the room. She had to wonder about the size of their ego if it allowed them to talk so much. There didn't seem to be a soul in the room giving their words a bit of attention.

"I see. I understand your concern," Kyoya started, "but do you think maybe we could finish this later?"

"Are you saying that you're not going to face us?" Benibara demanded.

Kyoya quickly clarified. "Not at all. It's just that our president is still bed-ridden from the initial culture shock." He finished with a gesture towards Tamaki, who was indeed sleeping.

Mina wondered how she hadn't noticed that earlier. It made sense why there was so much talking from the girls now since Tamaki wasn't awake to interrupt them every second.

"You see, Tama-chan is having his nappy time right now," Honey said.

Benibara was having none of it though as she yelled "wake him up!"

Haruhi cut in before any more yelling could happen. "Excuse me, I made some coffee. Would you ladies like to have some?" she asked as she held up a tray to the girls.

Mina watched their exchange, but before she knew it, their plans of girl bonding seemed to stir Tamaki from his sleep and sent him storming towards them in protest.

"You girls have it all wrong!" He shouted. "Don't you see there's nothing to be gained in a romantic relationship between two women? If that were the case, then why did God create Adam and Eve?" Before he could continue on with his rant though, he tripped, sending his hand flying right into a cup of hot coffee. Just as quickly as he started moving, he was down and crying over his finger.

And in no time at all Haruhi was beside Tamaki and wrapping his finger with bandages. "You gotta be more careful, Senpai."

"Thanks, Haruhi," Tamaki said as he examined his finger. "Do you always carry bandages around with you?"

Haruhi shook her head. "Nah, the supermarket was giving them out with the purchase of instant coffee. You always get free stuff at the supermarket."

"Free stuff?" Tamaki questioned.

Mina smiled to herself as she watched their exchange. They certainly seemed to go well together, despite their differences.

"This little conversation doesn't seem to be going anywhere," Benibara cut in, ending their conversation quickly. "Now that we know what's going on, we can't allow this maiden to stay here. We'll prepare her paperwork and have her transfer to Lobelia at once and welcome her into the Zuka club."

"Hey just wait a second, will you?" Haruhi said, quickly jumping back to their conversation. "There seems to have been some misunderstandings here. I mean, first of all, you called senpai a halfer."

"Cause he is a halfer. He's half French and half Japanese." Honey stated quickly, ending Haruhi's first argument.

"Oh, well." Haruhi stumbled as she tried to piece together another argument. "Uh anyway, I don't think it's fair for you to pick on the host club just because you don't think they have the same history as you do."

A second later, Hikaru spoke up. "We barely have any history. We were just founded two years ago."

Kaoru continued, "yeah, the boss created it whenever he started high school here."

Mina giggled slightly as all of Haruhi's arguments were torn down by the same people she was trying to defend. She was surprised Haruhi was even trying at all.

"Be that as it may," Haruhi said dryly, catching on that she was wasting her breath, "saying their club activity is only held to satisfy their appetites is just wrong. I mean, it's not like the host club's charging their guests or anything."

And as if on cue, Kyoya added in his own words. "Well, I wouldn't call it a charge. We do have a point system. We offer priority services based on the winning bids of auctions held on our website. Check this out, Haruhi. Your used mechanical pencil just sold with a winning bid of 30,000 yen. Good for you."

"What! But I thought I'd lost that pencil," Haruhi yelled, suddenly annoyed at the host club. "Why didn't you tell me about this before, Kyoya senpai? I had no idea you were collecting money."

"So, you thought we were all just working here as volunteers? While it's not much because of the expensive organizing events, we happen to make a small profit from the online auctions."

"You can't sell other people's thing without asking permission. That's stealing!" Haruhi snapped back.

That was when Hikaru and Kaoru decided to give their side of the story. "It wasn't stealing. You dropped that pencil on the floor."

It was hard to imagine how stupid these boys could be at times.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi!" Tamaki cried as he ran up to Haruhi. "It's not like we were hiding it from you. Here, you can have mine. It's got a cute teddy bear on it." He finished as he held up his own pencil, offering it to her.

"Senpai, I don't want your pencil," Haruhi said flatly.

And not taking the hints, Tamaki moved right along, coming up with other plans. "Then to make it up to you, how about I do this? I'll tell you the secrets to my success in my fondest memories."

"Not to be rude, senpai, but I'm not really interested in that information."

"Not interested?" Tamaki was clearly confused by that idea.

Suzuran then decided to jump to Haruhi's defense, seeing the opportunity to possibly sway her. "Oh, you poor dear. I can't believe they've been deceiving you."

"Hey, why don't you just dump these losers and come with us?" Hinagiku added.

"Hold on, Hinagiku," Benibara cut in. "This young maiden's had quite a day. We'll give you some time to think about it. We'll come back for your answer tomorrow. Well then, adieu." And in a flash, they were gone.

"I better be going. I've got some thinking to do." Haruhi said in annoyance, not giving them a change to speak before she as out the door as well.

Mina could understand why she was upset, though it seemed the boys weren't so clear about that. She couldn't say she cared though. This day seemed long and she was definitely done listening to their conversation.

Letting the boys continue with their wandering imaginations and their worries, Mina gathered up her stuff and headed towards the door. "As fun as it is to listen to all your worries, I gotta go. Performances to get ready for, people to see, you know. See ya." Mina didn't wait for a reply, knowing they'd be too caught up in their conversation to notice immediately. 

* * *

Mina took a breath as she pushed her hair back yet again. She had decided to curl it for the performance rather than pin it up, despite Natsuko's cries about accuracy. It was strange to see everyone in their period costumes and stage makeup done. The drama club had decided a while ago to create a short drama set in the early Victorian era in Europe. And of course they wouldn't dream of using anything less than the best. That's what led to her standing around, trapped in an intricately designed full skirt, which she was sure they had made to replicate the real things.

She was starting to think she would be trapped in dresses forever. Though Mina had to admit she felt much more regal in her costume. Despite all the material, it was still a huge improvement over the awful uniform she had to suffer with every day.

Before she knew it, she was back on stage, acting like the concerned friend she was supposed to be. All the drama and heartbreak was a bit ridiculous for her to believe, but what else could she expect from Ouran. Everyone was over the top, including their productions.

The final lines were said, everyone bowed, and then they were officially done. Mina didn't know that her work was just starting though. She had barely gotten off the stage before she was grabbed by multiple hands and dragged down the hall. In all the confusion, she barely caught a glimpse of some familiar figures as she tried not to trip over her skirt.

"That was amazing, Mi-Chan!" Honey shouted as she caught her bearings, realizing that it was the host club that had kidnapped her.

"What?" Mina asked confusedly as she looked around for a second before she continued slowly, unsure what to say. "Thanks, I… Wasn't aware you were going to be watching."

"Yes! But we have no time for that, we need your help!" Tamaki shouted as he grabbed her shoulders, staring at her. "We have to keep Haruhi from going to St. Lobelia's!"

"And you couldn't wait an extra ten minutes for me to change?" she asked as she gestured towards her dress.

"It's better if you're in costume. Boss thought it was perfect inspiration," the twins said as they started turning her around and moving her skirt, getting a better look at the design.

"What are you doing?" Mina shrieked as she tried to step away from the sudden invasion of privacy only to end up running unto Tamaki while Honey stood beside her.

Tamaki stopped her from moving again to speak to her, letting the twins go back to what they were doing. "We figured out how to get Haruhi to stay. We have to show her that she can get just as much female bonding here as she does with males. And you! You helped me realize just how to show her that. You will help us get ready!"

Despite his explanation, Mina still wasn't sure what was going on, but clearly she was not getting out of it.

* * *

The image in front of her was something she would never forget, she was sure of it. Mina did her best to block out all the ridiculous giggling and flitting about that the boys, now dressed as girls, were doing. She was questioning her own sanity along with theirs. Why did she agree to help them? It was almost insulting really. She could get past everything except their makeup.

Despite all her protests, they had ignored her words and left their makeup on extremely heavily. Apparently, they couldn't grasp the fact that she had stage makeup on and they didn't need to have it on so thick. Then again, hers wasn't even close to that thick… If their costumes and attitudes didn't send Haruhi running, their faces might. The boys were convinced they were feminine and welcoming, but Mina thought they belonged in a horror movie.

"You guys… look ridiculous," Mina said as she shook her head, bit her lip and looked away from the guys in hopes of stopping herself from laughing.

"Sounds like someone's jealous," the twins sang as they poked her.

"As if," Mina shot back with a laugh. "I still pull off a dress far better than you guys. And mine's better," she finished matter-of-factly. For her being "inspiration" or whatever, the only inspiration that seemed to come from her dress was simply the size of the skirt.

She was curious to see how all of it would play out once Haruhi arrived. She still wasn't sure what help she had provided besides some sort of example for them. She wouldn't have to wait long though.

Her green eyes turned towards the door as it opened. The guys had dimmed the lights in the room so the Lobelia girls and Haruhi wouldn't be able to see them immediately, but she had a perfect view of their curious faces as she watched from her seat on the arm of the sofa.

And then, one by one, each of the hosts kicked off their plan.

"Ouran!" each host sang as a spotlight shone down until they were all visible, standing proudly in their dresses.

"Host club welcomes you!" they announced as a group, greeting the girls.

Tamaki went up to Haruhi, getting in her face as he greeted her in his falsetto voice. "Oh, Haruhi, welcome back."

"Look, Haru-chan. I'm a princess now! Aren't I cute?" Honey asked as he twirled around in his dress, smiling at her.

Mina lost her composer after that, laughing silently to herself as she saw the insulted look that crossed the other girls' faces.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to make fun of woman kind?" Benibara demanded, staring down all of the host club before spotting Mina sitting there as well, deciding to glare at her instead. "You would dare aide them in such a disrespectful act?"

Mina simply held up her hands, determined to stay out of it as much as possible.

Tamaki jumped in quickly to explain themselves. "What? No, that's not it at all. Everything's going according to plan. Our strategy is guaranteed to make even a crying child smile. It's the freebie campaign. My dears, you ladies have all lived sheltered lives at Lobelia, so you might not know, that commoners are weak. They have a weakness for free things." Tamaki turned his attention from Benibari to Haruhi then, giving her his full attention. "Haruhi, you may be distracted by the Zuka club. But choose us. And you gain not only a host club full of brothers but sisters as well. See? This way, you can experience feminine bonding while staying in the host club. Isn't that a great idea? Aren't I pretty?"

And just like before, they all introduced themselves as Haruhi's sisters, and thankfully after a moment of silence, Haruhi broke out laughing hysterically and Mina could understand why. Of course, the Lobelia girls weren't as amused.

Benibara was the first to speak up, jumping right into her accusations. "Why you... Do you idiots really think you can win her over like this? I've had enough of your fooling around.

Before anyone could reply though, Haruhi spoke up, gaining enough composure to form words. "This is too much. I don't even get what you're trying to do. I knew you were a bunch of goofballs, but geez..."

Not skipping a beat, Hikaru, Kaoru and Honey all stepped closer to her. "Are we really that funny?" they asked eagerly. "Call me big sister. Come on, do it. Just say it. Big sister. Say it please."

"Come on. Cut it out," Haruhi said while she laughed so hard it brought tears to her eyes. "What were you thinking? What's gotten into you guys?"

"We did this because we don't want you to leave the host club, Haruhi," Hikaru explained.  
Having listened to what the boys were saying as well, Benibara looked at Haruhi before asking, "well, maiden, have you made a choice?"

Haruhi nodded as she looked back at her. "Yeah, I have. I'm sorry but your club's not for me. I think the idea of a girls' school is great. And your views are very unique and interesting. But I came to this school with a goal and a plan for my future. So while I appreciate your offer, I really already knew that I was never going to leave Ouran academy."

While Mina wasn't all that surprised, it did seem to be a shock to the guys as Tamaki looked back at her. "Haruhi. Hold on. If you knew you weren't going to leave, then why did you act so angry yesterday?"

What Mina shouldn't have been surprised about is their stupidity she thought as she rolled her eyes at his question.

"How would you feel if I stole something of yours without asking you?" Haruhi snapped back, annoyed. "I really liked that mechanical pencil. It was easy to write with."

"I'm sorry. But I was nice and offered my teddy-bear pencil in return, and you said you didn't want it." Tamaki cried, desperately trying to make amends, though more dramatically than was necessary.

"That's right. I still don't want it." Haruhi said as if it were the last thing she'd ever use.

Through all the bickering, the girls from St. Lobelia's watched on before Suzuran finally spoke up, "um Benio..."

"Yes, I know," Benibara said, knowing exactly what she was thinking. She then spoke up, drawing everyone's attention yet again. "We're not going to give up on you, maiden. I swear this to you. Some day, we'll come and rescue you from this place. And when we do, we'll abolish the Ouran host club. Well, adieu." And as suddenly as they appeared, all three girls were out the door and gone.

"Sooo," Mina dragged out as she casually looked at the hosts, trying to keep a straight face for her question. "You gonna wear those next time you see your guests?" Mina broke out laughing, Haruhi joining her, as the boys all decided to start ignoring the girls instead. "And here I thought they'd be too exciting about you being back to even care about their ridiculous getup," she finished as she grinned at Haruhi.

"Don't give them any ideas. They try hard enough to get me into dresses."

"Very true," Mina said before turning to Haruhi, pretending to whisper though speaking clearly enough for everyone to hear. "Plus they'd scare their guests away. I don't think the girls at the school could handle that makeup job."

As Mina continued teasing them with Haruhi, the boys all dispersed to get back into their uniforms, putting an end to their fun.

"So why are you dressed up? Yours didn't exactly go with their dresses." Haruhi suddenly commented as she looked at Mina's choice of clothing.

"Yes, well," Mina started laughing as she thought about the fact that she'd been stuck in her Victorian dress for almost half the day now. "That's what happens when the host club kidnaps people from side stage. I had barely even finished the performance for drama club…"

Mina continued explaining the adventure of her afternoon before the boys started showing up one by one.

With most of them fussing over Haruhi again, Mina decided to take the opportunity to sneak out. Her exit was soon blocked by Kaoru however. "Can I help you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow before glancing around to see that Hikaru was beside Tamaki, both bothering Haruhi.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked as he smirked at her, leaning against the door.

"Apparently not," she said with a roll of her eyes before she crossed her arms. "I'm surprised you're talking to me without your brother beside you." She sighed as she realized how harsh she was coming across. "Sorry, I think the long day is just catching up with me along with being stuck in this while the rest of you all look normal now."

"I guess we should be the ones apologizing, not letting you get changed earlier." Kaoru sighed as he glanced towards his brother. "And how I've been acting this past month is actually why I wanted to catch you. Just hear me out, then you can say whatever you want."

Mina let out a sigh before she gestured for him to continue, letting go of her annoyance a bit. "Alright, go." It would certainly be nice to get an explanation since she felt like it was constantly back and forth with them this past month. She never knew what kind of welcome she would get from them.

"It's always been Hikaru and I, even after we joined the host club and started making other friends, it's always the two of us."

"I get it, you're a packaged deal, and that's fine." Mina didn't get to speak much more before Kaoru held up his hand to stop her.

"Just let me explain some more. Yeah, I guess most would consider us a packaged deal. It's not very common for us to actually be interested in talking to different people." Kaoru continued, watching as Mina nodded her head and bit her lip. "Hikaru never had an actual problem with you, I guess he just wasn't expecting me to give you more attention than he was." As he finished that sentence, he waited for her to catch on.

"So… he was upset because you," Mina paused suddenly in her words. She wanted to say it was because he liked her more than Hikaru, but saying those words seemed more loaded than she expected.

"I guess I wanted to be your friend more than he did."

Mina couldn't help but smile at the words but still looked away, trying to hide it. "So you stopped talking to me like this for your brother."

Kaoru simply confirmed her words, unsure what else to day.

"Guess I can't hold that against you." She probably would have had to deal with Hikaru yelling at her for a lot longer if he hadn't. Deciding to lighten the mood then, she shrugged and smiled at him. "Well, we can still be friends anyway. I don't mind hanging out with the both of you, at least Hikaru isn't biting my head off anymore."

There was a moment when it looked like Kaoru was going to say something else before he nodded and smiled back. "Good cause we certainly don't mind getting to tease you more."

"Good, so can I go now, as much as I _love_ pretending that I'm from the Victorian era," Mina started dramatically, taking on the aer of her character earlier. "I'm seriously sick of this." And of course there was the fact that she wanted to get her feelings in check. She was reminded yet again that she liked him, but it seemed she was stuck keeping them a secret since it clearly wasn't an option at the moment, and she wasn't sure if it would ever be an option.

"Yeah, and by the way, Mina, you were great during your play. And despite wanting to change, you do look great in the dress and all dolled up," he said with a wink as he ran a hand through the front of her curls before walking away and back towards his brother.

And just like that, she was stuck blushing again as she marched out the door, incredibly confused and not sure what to do with herself besides simply trying to control her breathing.


End file.
